


Miraculous Justice

by GalacticDefender4679



Category: Justice League - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Earth-27, F/M, Full Team (Miracle Beasts), Identity Reveal, Romance, Superheroes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2020-03-20 01:48:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 34
Words: 56,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18982723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalacticDefender4679/pseuds/GalacticDefender4679
Summary: After careful consideration, the great heroes that form the Justice League's founding council have come to an agreement; the Miraculous-wielding heroes of Paris are now officially members of the Justice League. And their first mission; helping unravel a supervillain conspiracy in their own city. And find out who their greatest enemy truly is under the mask.All renditions of DC Comics’ characters (including designs and backstories) are the byproduct of Roy Westerman’s “Earth-27” universe, which is actually really interesting (especially since it’s basically narrated entirely by Barbra Gordon {Though I have edited it a bit so that Paris wasn't destroyed in "The Manhattanning". Doesn't exactly gel with the story idea}).





	1. The Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beginning Date: November 20th, 2020 3:26 PM Eastern Standard Time

The Watchtower; orbiting base of operations for the Justice League, a private order of globally recognized superheroes founded by Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, the Flash, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and the Martian Manhunter. And at this moment, the founders themselves (including the Dark Knight, surprisingly) found themselves in their custom-built Conference Room.

“Alright Bruce, why exactly did you call this meeting?” As much as Superman respected the Bat, the latter always could be a bit… for lack of a better term, melodramatic.

“It’s time we address the situation in Paris. Gideon?” At that command, the Watchtower’s AI system powered on to show a hologram of a pair of young-seeming costumed heroes.

“What, the kids? Pfft. Relax Bruce. They’ve been able to handle themselves for the last three years, what makes you think they can’t keep doing that?” asked Arrow, testing the tension on his bowstring with a standard arrow.

“Because Jonathan Crane is on his way there right now.” That single blunt comment spooked Arrow so much that he lost his grip on his bowstring and the arrow shot off into the wall.

“Scarecrow? You’re kidding.”

“I wish. Tim saw him incognito at the airport with a ticket to Paris an hour ago. These kids may have been able to handle themselves for those three years, but they’ve never had to deal with anything like Crane before.”

“And you’re suggesting we head down there and help them. Sounds good to me.” Flash shrugged.

“I agree. Those earrings once belonged to my mother, thus it would be my honor to aid their latest wearer.” Wonder Woman smiled at this as she stood and gave a small bow.

“Sorry Diana, but you won’t be on their assist team.” Batman always was a strategic one. “None of us will. I’ve already got a two-man squad selected.” With that, he turned on the comms at his seat. “Red Robin, report.”

“ _Sup Bruce?_ ”

“Any sign of Crane yet?”

“ _No, he hasn’t boarded yet. And I can’t deploy any of my surveillance droids without revealing my identity. I’m just lucky everyone else is distracted so I can take this call._ ”

“Wait, you managed to get Tim onto a plane to France? How’d you swing that?” Canary’s question wasn’t given much thought, though it _was_ easily answered by Batman narrowing his eyes, making her sigh. “You’re right, dumb question.”

“By the way Bruce, where’s my partner?” Tim was right to ask; with these sorts of missions, Batman always assigned his teammates ride-along partners who had past relations with them.

“Right here, birdy.” This cheery voice in his ear nearly spooked Tim out of his seat until he saw who was standing next to him. He recognized her in less than a second as his ex-girlfriend Cassandra Sandsmark aka Wonder Girl.

“Cassie?! He-hey babe, good to see you!” Tim smiled as he jumped up and hugged her. “Hey, how’s Connor?”

“Oh, he’s great. You should seriously consider coming back to the mountain. You know we all miss you.” Cassie smirked as she stowed her bags in the overhead cabinet.

“Yeah, I know. But well… ever since Babs was diagnosed with that tumor, she’s been asking for my help with her work. You know how it is.”

“Yeah, I do.” Cassie quickly cleared her throat as the two sat down, trying to change the subject. “So, what’s the mission?”

“Get to Paris, track down and defeat Scarecrow and possibly get some new recruits for the League,” Tim said simply.

“ _Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Tim,_ ” Batman said over his earpiece. “ _We’re still debating bringing them into the fold._ ”

“Bruce cmon, be realistic here; you brought me into your little crusade when I was thirteen. And from what little I’ve been able to gather based on their biometrics from newsreels, Ladybug and Chat Noir aren’t much older; one year at least.”

Batman sighed. “ _Alright, you’ve got me there,_ ” Tim smirked at his mentor relenting. “ _Look, just get to Paris, assess the situation and report back._ ”

“Roger that. Red Robin out.” With that, he cut the connection and looked back at Cassie. “You got your suit?”

“You would be amazed how easy it is to sneak Themysciran equipment through customs. You?”

“VIP treatment. For all they know, I’m on my way to check out the Paris branch of Wayne Enterprises on Bruce’s orders. Even got Lucius to clear it.”

“Nice. Well then, next stop Paris, eh?”

“Oh yeah.” But then, just as Tim was getting ready for a quick nap, he heard a sharp whistle coming from near the front of the plane. Jerking up, he saw that he and Cassie would have a speedster friend of theirs along for the ride as well.

“Well-well-well, if it isn’t Wally West,” Cassie smirked as he slipped in next to her on the aisle side.

“Cmon Cass, don’t be like that. It’s been _way_ too long since we teamed up, so when I heard you had a job in France, I basically begged my Aunt Iris to let me go with you guys. Once I had the go-ahead, I got over here as fast as I could.” Then he burped. “Sorry.”

“Phew! And judging by your breath, you must’ve hit five separate Big Belly Burgers on the way.”

“For your information, Cassie…!” he said in faux anger. “I hit six.” Tim chuckled. “Yeah, I guess that is funny, isn’t it?”

“Not that, it’s just- you? On a job with Cassie? In Paris? Not too sure Artemis and Connor would approve if I weren’t going along with you.” Wally scowled at Tim’s smirk.

“Well, you’re one to talk.” He smirked back. “How’s Stephanie doing?”

“Touché, Wally.” Then he stretched and yawned, slipping his neck-pillow into place. “Well, I’m gonna see if I can catch some Z-s. Wake me up when we land.”

Cassie shook her head at her ex-boyfriend before she looked ahead and saw someone painfully familiar. “How about if we see our target?”

Tim’s eyes shot open at her tone, knowing that she did in-fact see Crane. And looking up, he saw the doctor as well and readied a small tracking dot. “Think we can slip this onto him from here?”

“Maybe. If we had Roy’s level of accuracy.”

“Relax, I’ve got this. I think I dropped something outside anyway.” With that in mind, Wally took the tracker, confidently stood up from his seat and slipped up toward the front of the plane, accidentally bumping into Crane which allowed him to plant the tracker on one of the buttons of his shirt. “Scuse me.” Once done with that, he slipped up to the head attendant and spoke with her for a second before he slipped off the plane and walked back into the cabin about a minute later, now wearing the gold Flash ring he and his speedster family were famous for.

“Very smooth, Wall-man. Very smooth indeed.” Tim smirked.

“What can I say, Tim? ‘Smooth’ is my middle name.” Wally mused as he sat back down.

“I thought it was Rudolph.” The three laughed at Cassie’s joke for a second before the large jet took off. This was going to be one fun trip.


	2. War-Zone

Ah, Paris. The City of Love, lights and nowadays, of course, superheroes. Hardly two days go by without some sort of insane supervillain trying to conquer the city in the name of their master Hawk Moth, but they all fail thanks to the machinations of Paris’ own superheroes; Ladybug and Chat Noir, as well as their new emergency allies Rena Rouge, Carapace and Queen Bee. But there’s just one problem in the team; aside from they themselves, only Ladybug knows who Rena Rouge and Carapace really are and even then, she and Chat have no idea who the other is under the mask.

Thankfully, we know who they really are as we find Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the true identity of Ladybug, in her bedroom getting ready for school this morning. Once she was dressed, she took a quick glance into her mirror, as if giving herself a scrutinizing looking over. “What do you think Tikki? Should I wear my hair down today?”

“I think so. It looks so cute!” Tikki squeaked. Marinette giggled at her Kwami; she knew she could always trust Tikki’s judgment in a situation like this. Mostly she wanted to try her hair differently to try and catch the eye of a certain someone at school. A few barrettes in her hair and a quick breakfast and she was ready. She was lucky her school was right across the street from the bakery her parents ran as it was a simple jaunt there. And yet most days she still managed to be late and miss the first bell.

Thankfully, it looked like today would be an exception. And her timing was great as her certain someone was just arriving via his limo. And this certain someone was none other than teen fashion idol Adrien Agreste. Marinette would’ve confessed her feelings for him ages ago if not for two things; whenever he was around, she’d get lost in his handsomeness and just stutter.

“Adrikins!” And then there was that; her rival Chloé Bourgeois, the mayor’s daughter. She and Adrien had been friends since they were kids (though how this was possible was beyond Marinette’s understanding), and she always figured that the two were destined for each other. As if that weren’t bad enough, Marinette knew that Chloé was actually Queen Bee so whenever the situation called for it, she had to work alongside her hated rival as well as her obnoxious partner Chat Noir.

Thankfully it looked like Adrien was just as pained and forced around Chloé as he was most of the time. “Hey, Chloé.” In fact, he actually didn’t look too good at all. Tired, even. “Listen, I’m not really in the mood right now.”

“Oh? Why not? I would think you’d love being around me.” Marinette rolled her eyes; she knew Chloé was out of touch with reality, but this was just ridiculous.

“I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. I heard a rumor online that honestly kinda spooked me.” This made Marinette grow interested; what could’ve stopped Adrien from getting sleep?

“Was it that thing about the Scarecrow?” That voice was instantly recognized as Marinette’s bestie/wing-girl Alya Césaire aka Rena Rouge herself. But she confused her; what about a scarecrow could scare Adrien into losing sleep?

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Pfft. What are you talking about?” Chloé asked indignantly. “What’s this about a scarecrow?”

“I’m actually kinda curious about that too. What scarecrow?” asked Marinette.

“This one.” Alya pulled out her phone and showed the two girls one of the pictures of Gotham’s master of fear and they were spooked too.

“Whoa! That’s crazy.” Marinette shuddered.

“It gets crazier. Apparently, he can force you to see your worst fear.” This was concerning: ever since she fell in love with Adrien, Marinette’s worst fear had been if Hawk Moth had Akumatized or even killed him and if this Scarecrow could make her see that, it would cripple her; break her will, maybe even make her go insane. But it did make her wonder; Hawk Moth couldn’t have sent an Akuma all the way across the Atlantic to Gotham City to possess him… could he?

“What are you so worried about?” asked Chloé as she strutted away. “I’m sure that ridiculous bat-guy will be able to stop him again.”

“That’s the problem.” Adrien was suddenly serious. “The rumor says he’s coming to Paris.” Chloé froze mid-step and Marinette went rigid in fear.

“W-Well, I-I-I’m sure Ladybug and Chat Noir will be able to handle it.” This stammer wasn’t like any of her others; before it was all just nerves, but now… it was abject terror.

“I hope so. Otherwise… Paris is doomed.” Adrien and Alya’s concerns were with Marinette and Chloé all day. They even made the latter stop trying so hard to cozy up with the young model which, while a godsend for Marinette, didn’t ease her mood at all.

It was only a shame she didn’t know that aside from the supervillain himself exiting the Charles de Gaulle Airport was a team of three young American heroes. Unfortunately, even with their enhanced senses, Cassie and Wally lost sight of Crane in the airport as he must’ve gotten his baggage immediately upon disembarking the plane and booked it out of the airport.

“You still got the tracker running, Tim?” Wally asked.

“Yep. Looks like he’s heading for Ile Saint-Louis; must have a safehouse there. We’d better follow him.”

“But first, might I propose we change?” Cassie’s suggestion was welcomed with a smile from the others.

“You might indeed. Let’s hit the john.” Quickly the three went to the bathrooms and entered.

Once in the stall farthest from the door, Cassie entered a fast spin making her spark with Olympian magical energy making her civilian clothes disappear and in their place was a red bodysuit cut just above the breasts, her cleavage covered by the gold emblem of herself and her mentor. A gold belt formed around her hips with a bronze-hilted longsword on her left and a burning red magic lasso on her right. A single gold plate formed on her right shoulder as well as red fingerless elbow-gloves and gold bracers on both her hands and bright red gold-soled boots on her feet.

Wally’s suit-up wasn’t too different as he simply pressed a button on his ring and his suit shot out. Once he grabbed it, he entered a super-spin all his own and came out with a bright white suit with a red chest, shoulders, back, gloves, outer legs, belt, and boots. His red mask showed off his face but hid his eyes behind a layer of sculpted fabric and a pair of moveable red goggles.

Tim’s suit-up was a bit more believable for a normal (albeit extremely well-trained) human as he simply cracked open his carry-on which allowed him to don his red and black jumpsuit, black gloves and boots, gold utility belt, black cape with attached head-mask, as well as his X-style strap-belt to anchor the cape on.

Once in costume, the three burst out of the bathrooms. No longer were they Tim Drake, Cassandra Sandsmark and Wally West; for now, they were simply Red Robin, Wonder Girl, and Impulse. Quickly, Impulse raced out of the airport full-tilt with Wonder Girl following him in the air and Red Robin quickly pressing a button on his belt which made a small hatch open in the plane and sent a red motorcycle roaring out. One jump and he quickly boarded and punched it full-throttle after his team. Though the bike surprised Impulse.

“You brought your bike, dude?”

“I’m not gonna be able to keep up with you guys on foot. Besides most of the rooftops here are too far apart for me to parkour my way across.”

“Yeah, and even if that weren’t the case, no offense but you’re no Nightwing.” Wonder Girl shrugged.

“Exactly. Now let’s focus and get Crane.” The team was never gonna say no to that as they rocketed through the streets of Paris.

But then Wonder Girl heard something; screaming. “Hey, guys. Scarecrow hasn’t released any toxin yet, has he?”

Red Robin was confused by her question but checked his mask’s systems anyway. “No, I’m not picking up anything in the atmosphere. Why?”

“Because I think there might be another supervillain in town.”

Red Robin growled but quickly came up with a plan. “Alright, you and Impulse go check it out. I’ll stay after Crane.”

“On it. Let’s rock, speedster.” The Amazon quickly turned in the air to the direction of the screams and Impulse quickly followed, racing down the street after her. This was going to be a fun day in Paris.


	3. Meanwhile...

School was dragging on more than usual, and while the thought of the Scarecrow being in town caused her some distress, Marinette did her best to stay focused on her school-work and even then, she was having trouble not daydreaming about Adrien.

Then she heard something outside; something that sounded like screaming. “Uh, guys?” Kim must’ve checked out the window as he looked a bit spooked. “I think there’s another Akuma.” And indeed there was; one that looked like a flaming chimney-sweep with a narrow-muzzled vacuum that appeared to have been turned into a flamethrower.

“ _Well I’ll give Hawk Moth one thing; he’s getting creative._ ” thought Adrien.

“Alright everyone, this has happened enough for us to prepare for it. Everyone stay quiet and hunker down.” Mrs. Bustier was actually surprisingly calm about this considering it actually happened to her once. Either way, it was only a simple matter of slipping out while she wasn’t looking for Marinette to manage to run to the gym.

Once there, she undid the clasps on the small purse her Kwami was hiding in. “Time to transform.”

“Just say the magic words, Marinette!”

“Tikki, Spots On!” At that command, the little being flew into her earrings and she quickly transformed, becoming the superhero Ladybug. Once she was in costume, she leaped out the window and swung out to the street, sliding into the villain’s way spinning her yo-yo. “Where do you think you’re going, sooty?”

“Name’s Pyrelight to you, Ladybug. And if you must know, I was actually looking for some fuel!” Then he suddenly blasted a wall of fire out at her, but she was suddenly swept off her feet and pinned to a wall across the street by a very fast force. She had shut her eyes in fear of being torched, but when she opened them against the wall, she was surprised by who had saved her.

At best, she was expecting Chat Noir but in reality, it was Impulse. “You always go all ‘deer-in-the-headlights’ when you first stare down the bad guy?” he asked jokingly. “Usually I just give ‘em a stupid pun and then punch ‘em.”

“Sounds like someone I know,” Ladybug skillfully slipped out of his arms before glaring him down. “So what are you doing here?”

“Oh, we were in the neighborhood, figured you might need some help.”

“Wait, ‘we’?”

“Yeah. ‘We’.” Impulse just stuck a thumb up into the air to show her that Wonder Girl was there as well. “Just leave this to us, we can handle it.” Before Ladybug could say anything, he just zipped back out to his partner who had hovered to the ground, where they both got a good look at the criminal. “Yeesh. And I think Trickster looks weird.”

“Eh. Not the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen before.” Wonder Girl shrugged.

“Yeah but you’re one of Zeus’ daughters.”

“Fair point. Still though.”

“You’re with the Justice League, aren’t you?” Pyrelight shuddered.

Impulse just smirked. “What gave it away? The big targets on our chests or our powers?” The villain was just about to retort when- “Y’know what? Doesn’t matter anyway. Just give up now before we have to crack out the lightning.” As if to emphasize this, Wonder Girl pulled her lasso off her belt and pulled it taut between her hands, letting lightning course along the rope.

“Your choice, pal.” Sadly her smirk was rewarded with a torrent of fire blasted in her face. Or rather, that’s what would’ve happened if she hadn’t used her insane reflexes to cross her arms in front of her, generating what looked like an echo of Zeus’ Aegis shield in front of her and leave her unscathed. “Looks like he wants to do this the hard way!”

“Good.” Impulse smirked as he cracked his knuckles. “So do I.” With that in mind, he shot forward and started delivering a lightning-fast combo to the supervillain, ending it with a kick that sent him flying down the street. “Whoo! Yeah-ha-ha! 120-hit combo! Finally!”

Needless to say, Ladybug was stunned. 120 hits? And it couldn’t have taken him more than a few seconds. She didn’t know anyone that fast.

Then… “For Hera!” She saw Wonder Girl charging in, ready to punch the still flying Pyrelight to a pulp.

But just before she could, she quickly stopped and moved her head to dodge a quickly extending black rod shooting down across her path. Then it went vertical and who should slide down it but Chat Noir himself. “Well hello there, my wonder.” Same cocky grin as usual. “You truly do have Aphrodite’s beauty.”

Wonder Girl chuckled. “Appreciate the compliment pal, but don’t try to butter me up. I’m already engaged to Superboy.”

“Whoo! Talk about a power couple.” Chat smirked.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what Oracle said.” Wonder Girl said with a chuckle. “Now then, if you’ll excuse me, I think I still have a bad guy to take down.”

“Well if that’s how we’re going to play it, just take it easy will you?” asked Ladybug. “We don’t need to destroy him.”

“Yeah, we just need to find the Akuma right?” asked Impulse.

Ladybug was surprised. “Yeah. How’d you know that?”

“The League’s been keeping an eye on things here for a while. I read the file, so I know what you do. So what’s the plan?”

“Keep him distracted, we’ll figure it out.”

“Piece of cake. Impulse?” Wonder Girl handed him one end of her lasso and he smirked as he accepted it.

“With gusto.” With that, he shot over to Pyrelight and handed him the rope. “Hold this for a sec, will ya? Thanks.” Then with that, he gave the criminal a strong punch in the face which made him spin around in circles at high speeds, practically instantly tying him up in the divine rope. “Ha! This must be how the Aesir felt when they tied up Fenris.”

“Must be.” Wonder Girl smirked. “Okay, so where’s the Akuma?”

“Right here!” Then Impulse realized it; Pyrelight still had his finger on the trigger of his weapon, allowing him to blast his way along the road and wriggle loose from the lasso.

“Did Fenris ever do that?” asked Chat.

“Pfft. I wish. That would’ve been awesome!” Impulse smirked. “Although seriously, now would be a good time.”

“Lucky Charm!” Ladybug threw her yo-yo up to activate her special power, and from the pink sparks fell a small ladybug-print item which she recognized. “A stopper?”

“How’s that supposed to help us?” Impulse asked.

“Give her a sec, she always figures it out.” Chat’s reassuring tone didn’t exactly help the two sidekicks moods when they saw Pyrelight flying toward them on some sort of boot-jet rigs powered by his flamethrower.

“She’d better! We’ll keep him busy as long as we can.” With that, Impulse started zipping around him on the ground and Wonder Girl drew her sword and charged, but this just prompted Pyrelight to pull out a brush which he then blocked the blade with. Ladybug looked around as fast as she could, figuring out what she could use her stopper for with her Lucky Sight highlighting certain objects in her pattern; Chat, Pyrelight’s boot-rigs, the vacuum, and her stopper.

“Chat, his boot-jets!” she ordered.

“On it!” He started running toward the two flyers who were still wrapped up in their swordfight and smirked. “Impulse! Gimme a boost!”

“You got it!” Quickly the speedster zipped over and let the cat jump into his hand before he pitched like a baseball player.

“Cataclysm!” Black sparks of energy flowed around his hand as he quickly scratched it across both of Pyrelight’s boot-jets, making them rust away into nothingness and sending the villain crashing down to the ground.

Once Chat landed, Impulse zipped over and smirked at him. “Nice power, amigo.”

“You’re not too bad yourself, speedy.”

“Nah, Speedy’s Green Arrow’s partner.”

“What? What sense does that make?”

“That’s what the rest of us thought!”

“Boys! Focus!” yelled Wonder Girl. “Bad guy might get in a lucky shot.”

“Too late! Cause it’s cleaning time!” Pyrelight growled as he quickly aimed his flamethrower at the two boy-heroes. But just before he could pull the trigger, Ladybug swung her yo-yo over to the muzzle, quickly slapping the stopper into it and making the weapon explode in his hand, sending the stopper flying up into Wonder Girl’s hand.

“Whoo! Nice!” yelled Impulse. Then he saw something confusing; a black butterfly literally flew out of the broken flamethrower.

“Trust me, you guys are gonna love this bit.” Chat winked.

“No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma.” Ladybug somehow split her yo-yo straight down the middle to reveal a bright white panel. She dropped it to hang about a foot above the ground. Then she swung it around herself and smirked. “Time to de-evilize!” Then she swung her weapon at the Akuma, catching it on the white panel before it sealed back up and she caught it. “Gotcha!” Then she opened the yo-yo again and the butterfly was reverted to its original pure-white form before it flew away. “Bye-bye little butterfly.” Then she took the stopper from Wonder Girl and threw it into the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!” This part really amazed the two; the stopper exploded into a bright pink wave of energy and magic ladybugs which flew around the city and reverted everything Pyrelight had destroyed earlier to the way it was before. Impulse was especially impressed; Flash may have been the fastest man alive, but the only time he showed repairing speeds this fast was years ago.

It even reverted Pyrelight’s weapon back into a simple handheld vacuum cleaner and turned the villain himself back into his original form; a simple human chimney-sweep. “Huh? What just happened?”

“Pound it!” The two heroes smirked as they fist-bumped in celebration.

“Nice. I can see why the people here worship you like the guys in Metropolis worship Superman.” Impulse smirked.

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far. But yeah, we’re worshipped.” Chat smiled at this as he balanced on his collapsible staff.

Just then, Wonder Girl saw something coming toward them. Once it came into focus for the others, they saw it was Red Robin… just before he screeched to a stop. “What’d I miss?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just us teamin’ up with Paris’ resident superheroes for an awesome takedown!” Impulse cheered.

“Nice.” He then turned to the heroes in question. “Nice to meet you guys. Name’s Red Robin.”

Chat looked just about ready to say something but Wonder Girl just stuck her hand up in front of his face. “Don’t. Say what I know you’re going to say. He hates that joke, and it would be low even for you, kitty-cat.”

“She’s not wrong.” The bird-themed hero said simply. Despite having no idea how they knew what he was going to say, Chat decided not to test his luck and said nothing.

Thankfully, Ladybug was there to break the silence. “So what exactly are you guys doing here anyway? Impulse said you were in the neighborhood, but we know there must be a reason for that. What is it?”

“You probably already heard about it on the news.” Red Robin shrugged.

“You mean Scarecrow?” Ladybug was surprised by Chat’s bluntness. “Yeah, I was just talking about it with some friends this morning. So he actually _is_ here?”

“Winged in just this morning, same plane as us.” Impulse said simply. “Managed to plant a tracker on him though.”

“Unfortunately, that was a dead end.” Red Robin then callously threw an old dress-shirt off from his bike into the middle of the circle the heroes had made. And on one of the buttons was the exact same tracker Impulse had planted on him in Gotham.

“Please don’t tell me…” The speedster groaned in vain.

“We lost him.”

“Dang it, I told you not to tell me!”

“So who is this guy anyway? I don’t know his full story.” Chat’s question was interrupted by the bleeping of his ring and Ladybug’s earring. “Uh, on second thought, you can fill us in on that later.”

“What? Why?” Wonder Girl was right to be curious, as were the other two.

“Because we used our special powers, and once we do we only have five minutes before we revert back to normal and expose our true identities. Can we meet up sometime tonight?” Ladybug’s explanation made a certain sort-of sense and Red Robin shrugged.

“Top of the Arc de Triomphe; 7:30 sharp.” He said simply.

“We’ll be there.” Chat said before he bounded away. But what confused the trio more was that Ladybug swung away in the other direction.

“What, they can’t even know each _other_ ’s identities? Seems like overkill to me.” Impulse said bluntly.

“Well hey; we have our rules, they have theirs. Cmon, I think we left our bags at the airport.” Red Robin revved up his bike but Impulse stopped him with a hand on the fender.

“No, we didn’t. I managed to slip into the plane’s cargo hold and shrink all our luggage down into this bad boy.” Then he pulled out a small ring similar to the one his suit was in. “Thank you, STAR Labs.”

“Nice. Cmon, let’s go get a hotel room.” With that, Wonder Girl flew off toward the Seine River with the others quickly following her. Tonight was a night for questions and answers. Definitely.


	4. Q&A

That night, the visitors had cased the area around the Arc to make sure no one would be able to see them meeting with the heroes of Paris who, as of now, were running late. It was 7:35 and Red Robin was always a stickler for the timetables. Finally, he heard the telltale sounds of a yo-yo cable wrapping around something and then two sets of feet sliding along the structure to a landing.

“You’re late.” Red Robin said in simple annoyance, not even turning to face them.

“Yeah, we know. Sorry, I had to get all my homework done and finish my chores.” Ladybug said simply.

“And I had fencing practice after school,” said Chat.

“Understandable, but that’s no excuse.” The hero said as he finally turned to the two.

“Man, are you always this stoic?” Chat jeered. “I heard Batman was a closed-off guy but can you at least _try_ to lighten up a little?”

“Uh hey, kitty. How about we _don't_ tick off the guy who can figure out your real name based solely on biometric scans?” suggested Impulse.

“Too late,” Red smirked as his mask beeped. “I’ve already found civilian matches for both of you.” Then his eyes went a bit wider under the material and he chuckled. “Oh-ho-ho-ho, this is just priceless.”

“What is?” asked Ladybug.

“Oh, you’ll find out.” He quickly cleared his throat and regained his stoic state. Then he turned on a holoprojector in one of his gloves to show an image of the Scarecrow. “Anyway, as Chat correctly guessed this morning, we’re here looking for the Scarecrow. Real name; Jonathan Crane, former head of research at Arkham Asylum back in Gotham.”

“Heh, no wonder he went crazy.” Chat smirked.

“Actually he went nuts with anger because he got fired once the warden found out he was working on his signature weapon; a special psychotropic toxin designed to force any who ingest it to confront their worst fears,” explained Red Robin. “And believe me, getting hit with the stuff is no picnic. I’d rather get squeezed through a chain-link fence.” Then he gave a disgusted shudder.

“So then what’s he doing in Paris?” asked Chat.

“Batman was wondering the same thing when he sent us here after him," Red smirked at this. "Thankfully, I managed to do some detective work once I lost the tracker lead.” Then he pulled a small piece of paper out of his belt. “Jon really needs to keep a better handle on his personal items.”

“What’s that?” asked Ladybug.

“It’s a shipping invoice from STAR Labs," Red replied, checking the form. "Apparently, there’s a large shipment of ketamine and DMT on the way through Paris on its way toward STAR Labs’ Rouen complex.”

“The active ingredients for his fear toxin.” Wonder Girl remembered.

“Precisely.”

“Wait a sec, Hawk Moth’s Akumas are drawn to negative emotions like fear. You don’t think Scarecrow’s working with him, do you?” asked Chat.

“I doubt it. Crane works better alone these days, but you raise an excellent point; if he gets his hands on those drugs and releases his toxin throughout the city, Hawk Moth would have an army ready to conquer Paris. Maybe even the world.”

“That reminds me.” Impulse walked forward. “I’m pretty sure you’ve been wondering why we of the League haven’t come to help you guys sooner, am I right?”

“Actually you are,” said Ladybug.

“Well, lemme explain; the League’s had its eye on this place for a while, waiting to see when they should step in. You’ve had such a handle on things as of late that we figured you could handle it for a while longer. But with Scarecrow here, they’ve decided you need professional help.”

“Wait, so does that mean-?” Ladybug’s question was answered with a broad smirk from Wonder Girl.

“It means our bosses wanna talk to you.” This was the most amazing thing that had happened to the two since they first got their powers three years ago. The founders of the Justice League wanted to meet with them?! No way they were gonna turn this down.

“We’re in!” they jinxed.

“Good to hear, but first quick question; are either of you at all prone to motion sickness and/or have any allergies?”

“Well, I’m allergic to feathers but other than that no I’m good.” Chat shrugged. “Milady?”

Ladybug rolled her eyes at her partner but looked back at Impulse with a smirk. “No, I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“I just wanna make sure and get some info to the League medical officers when we get there. Also, the Zeta-Tube tech is pretty hard on first-timers.” Impulse said nonchalantly.

“The what?” Ladybug’s question was suddenly answered when the whole group was warped from their position on the Arc to a large vaulted metal chamber near a large tunnel. And once they exited, she and Chat were suddenly thrown from their feet to the ground. “Whoa, jeez! Ugh. Okay, that was not fun.”

“Whew. Yeah, and we jump around rooftops for a living.” Chat joked.

“You guys good?” Wonder Girl’s question was answered by a weak nod from both parties. “Good. Welcome to the Watchtower.”


	5. The Masks Come Off

Ladybug and Chat were stunned; they were standing on the deck of the Justice League Watchtower, surrounded by such greats as Aquaman, Firestorm, and Earth’s _six_ Green Lanterns as well as countless others. Finally, the two were led by their escort to the meeting hall where the Founders were once again waiting.

“Red Robin, report,” Batman said simply.

“We know why Scarecrow’s in Paris; he’s going to try and steal a shipment of chemicals from a transport bound for STAR Rouen tomorrow. We need to get in contact and make sure Security is bulked up.”

“I’ll put in a call to Dr. Wells ASAP,” said Flash, moving to the communicator. But then he stopped and smirked at his partner and his team. “But that’s not the only reason you came, is it?”

“No, we also have some guests.” At Impulse’s smirking response, the three moved to show the two young heroes of Paris.

Flash chuckled at his partner. “Should’ve figured you guys would bring these two with you.” Then he looked back to the heroes themselves. “You guys speak English?”

“Eh…” Chat wiggled his hand side-to-side unsurely.

“A little.” Ladybug translated.

“Okay so when you say, ‘a little,’ what exactly do you mean by that? I mean, can we talk or are we just gonna sit here and spend the rest of the day asking each other the way to the beach in very loud voices?” Flash smirked at that quote he just pulled out.

“You watch that show?” asked Chat, pleasantly surprised.

**That quote is of course from Rowan Atkinson’s “Blackadder”, season 3 episode 3. You should look it up, it’s hilarious.**

“Course I do. Bats here showed it to me.”

“You’re kidding. Batman, into comedy TV?” asked Ladybug.

Red Robin just chuckled. “Y’know, I’m pretty sure there’s a saying about this. I dunno, something about books?”

Ladybug chuckled as she knew where he was going with this. “Okay, okay, I guess I asked for that one.”

“Skip the jokes, guys.” The dark knight said. “Let’s get serious. You want something to drink?”

The two were surprised by the question but shrugged as they both pulled up a seat at the table. “Just water please.” Ladybug said simply. At that, two small glasses of water slipped up from out of the table on small panels. The two were confused and surprised but just took the drinks anyway, downing them in a few simple swigs.

Superman looked across the table and smiled at his dark partner who smirked in his seat at his hideout. Then the Man of Steel stood up. “Well you two, now that you’ve seen the sort-of family we’ve got up here, what do you think? Impressed?”

“Whew. That’s putting it mildly.” Chat smirked. “Honestly, it’s a big thing on my bucket list to be up here with you guys. I’ve always wanted to really know you guys in person and not just from the news.”

“Cmon kid, you can’t say you really know us just by meeting us in costume,” Black Canary smirked. “To that end, I think we all know what time it is.”

“I think we do, little birdy.” Ladybug was suddenly confused and scared when she saw Canary’s smirk mirrored on Green Arrow’s face. “Time for the masks to come off.”

“Wait, what?!” Ladybug was right to be scared; to her, her secret identity was the most sacred thing a superhero had. “Y-You can’t be serious. What about-?”

“What, the rule?” Flash asked in a joking manner. “LB, that only applies to the general public. Everyone on the tower knows what each other’s real name is. Isn’t that right, Wally?”

Impulse just smiled as he pulled his goggles and mask off letting the two younger heroes see his young face. “Sup? Name’s Wally West.”

“Wait, West? As in-?”

“ _Iris_ West- _Allen_?” Wally finished Chat’s question with a smirk. “Yeah, she’s my aunt. As for who my uncle is… well. That’s probably obvious.” This made the two teen heroes glance across the table to the Flash, who had himself removed his mask to show his scruffy blonde hair and blue eyes.

“Barry Allen; crime lab manager for Central City PD.” He smiled.

“Wow, you guys are really calm about this,” said Chat.

“Well, we have to be. We’ve been accepting new members since 2004.” Arrow shrugged.

“Well okay, cmon. There’s no way _Superman_ can handle a steady cover-job.” Ladybug’s comment was only returned with a chuckle from the Man of Steel. “What?”

“You’re gonna get a kick out of this.” Then he simply pulled a pair of black-rimmed glasses out of a hidden pocket in his suit and slipped them on. “Name’s Clark Kent, I’m an investigative journalist for the  _Daily Planet_ in Metropolis, Delaware.” Ladybug just went wide-eyed and slack-jawed at this news; one of the most powerful living beings on Earth… was a reporter?

Suddenly Green Arrow started laughing and found himself having to pull down his hood and remove his mask to try and keep his comedic tears pinched in his eyes, revealing that they were actually bright blue, though they did shift to green after a second which confused the young hero. “Oho. Aw man, your face! Ha-ha-ha! Oh, no way man, this sort of stuff is _priceless_!”

“You would know, Oliver,” Barry smirked as he put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair.

Finally, Oliver got his laughter under control enough to see that Ladybug was currently scowling at him, which genuinely spooked him. Quickly he cleared his throat and scratched at his short blonde beard. “Sorry. Le-lemme try that again. Oliver Queen; president, and C.O.O. of Queen Consolidated.”

“Hey yeah, I thought you looked familiar,” said Chat. “Didn’t you come to Paris once a few years ago?”

“Yeah what, like three? I dunno, business trips tend to blurb together once you’ve done enough of ‘em, am I right Clark?”

“Absolutely. But we’re getting off track. Wonder Woman, you wanna go next?”

“Not just yet, Clark. Perhaps my partner would like to go first?”

“Sure.” Wonder Girl smirked as she walked over. “Name’s Cassie Sandsmark. Good to officially meet you two.”

“As for myself,” Wonder Woman herself then stood up. “I am Diana; daughter of Hippolyta, Amazon queen of Themyscira.” Then she smirked and pulled on a pair of glasses similar to Clark’s. “But most usually know me as Diana Trevor nee Prince; D.E.O. liaison to ARGUS.”

“Diana _Prince_? Huh. Subtle.” Chat said genuinely.

“Thanks. Took some workshopping, but it worked pretty well. Of course, then Steve gave me that ring and well... being a wife and mother works too."

“Well, we’ve all got something that works for us, Diana. This, for example.” The two heroes were confused as to what Black Canary meant by that, but it all became clearer as she suddenly pulled her long blonde hair off her head to reveal a head of much more manageable black hair.

“Wait, that was a wig?!” Chat was stunned; he honestly believed Canary’s hair was naturally that blonde.

“Whew. Man, if I had a dime for every time I heard that…” Canary chuckled. “The name’s Dinah Lance; part-time substance abuse counselor.”

“Wow. Really?” asked Chat.

“Yeah, my dad’s an alcoholic paraplegic and if I’m going to get married to _this guy_ again…” Then she pointed her thumb over at Oliver who was currently drinking from a flask. “…I gotta know what I’m getting into.”

“I guess that’s fair.” Ladybug then looked over at Batman in a sense of scrutiny. “And what about you?”

“Well, how about I introduce _my_ self first?” Red Robin suggested as he removed his mask. “Tim Drake; one of old Batsy’s _many_ adopted kids.”

“Cute.” Batman then sighed as he pulled off his cowl, revealing a head of black hair and blue eyes. “Bruce Wayne; director of Wayne Enterprises.”

“Not much of an introduction, Dark Knight.” Chat smirked.

“He usually does not need one. In either of his two lives.” The Martian said as he stood up and shifted his face into that of an African-American man with brown eyes. “As for myself, I am J’onn J’onzz; the last pure Green son of Mars, perhaps better known to humanity as John Jones, United States Marshal and U.S.M.S. liaison to ARGUS.”

Chat just raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? John Jones? That’s not even clever.”

“As opposed to who, Black Cat?” That comment from the Martian made Chat quiet down as J’onn shifted back to his standard green-skinned and red-eyed form. “Besides, that is only _one_ of the human identities I’ve assumed over the years. There have been others; Marco Xavier, William Dyer, John Tane, Mark Shaw, Johnny Thunder; not particularly proud of that last one. You get the idea.”

“Wait, that’s _five_  names. How long have you been alive?” Ladybug’s question was fair; she and Chat had no idea of how Martian biology worked.

“265 Earth years.” His simple answer stunned the two teenage heroes; over two-hundred and sixty?! And his voice and alias-form didn’t even make him seem a day older than 40.

“Isn’t it gonna be 26 _6_  next February, J’onn?” Barry asked simply.

“Indeed. Thank you for remembering, Barry.”

“Well, I _am_ in CSI work. Good memory really helps.” Then he turned to the two young ones. “Well, that’s us exposed. Your turn.”

That scared Ladybug. She wasn’t prepared to expose her true identity, especially not in front of Chat. So she just stood up. “I’m sorry.” This confused most of the heroes.

“What?” asked Oliver.

“I can’t tell anyone my real name. My Kwami; the source of my power, she told me not to.”

“Tikki?” Ladybug was surprised; she wasn’t expecting Diana to know her Kwami’s name. “No need to worry about that. We were close friends when I was young and from what I heard, she gave a similar order to my mother when _she_ wore your earrings. And she only activated their power once.”

This just stunned the young bluenette even more. “Wait, your _mother_ was Ladybug?”

Diana chuckled. “In her day, she preferred to be known as Suprema, but yes; she did, in fact, wear the Ladybug Miraculous.”

“So then who wore mine?” asked Chat, holding up his hand.

This apparently made Diana think rather hard about the question. “Hmm. That's a good question. Um, I’m tempted to say Hercules but I’m not sure.” Chat wasn’t sure he could get anymore amazed; first, he learns who the founders of the Justice League really are, now he hears that his ring might’ve been worn by Hercules. “Eh, could just be a guess. Either way, you get my point right?”

“Yeah, I guess. But still, I just can’t.” Ladybug then began walking toward the door.

“Whoa there kid.” Barry quickly zipped out in front of the young girl to stop her. “Are you seriously gonna walk away from a chance to join the big leagues?”

“I have to, I'm sorry. I respect you; really I do, but I can’t-”

“Milady please!” Chat bounded over to her. “Don’t be like this! We have just been handed the chance of a lifetime for superheroes. A chance to join the Justice League and you’re going to turn it down that quickly? Please don’t do this.” Then he smirked. “At least give me a little hint, Bugaboo.”

“Wait a sec. ‘Milady’? ‘Bugaboo’?” Cassie started chuckling. “Oho my gods, are you two dating?” Ladybug blushed brightly but then just gave a frustrated growl.

“You know what? Forget it! I’m outta here!” With that, she pushed past Chat and Barry and left the room.

“Ladybug wait, please! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for that to happen! I just-” Chat quickly started jogging after her, but this was halted when she suddenly stopped and turned to face him in anger.

“Just what, Chat? Love me?!” Then she punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground. Unfortunately, most of the other heroes on the deck saw this and were surprised at this. “How can you say that when all you care to see is the mask, Chat?!?” Then she moved to turn away but was quickly halted when she heard weak, quiet sobbing coming from her partner. Looking back at him, she saw a few small tears dripping down his face… and blood dripping from his nose. “Oh my god. No-no-no-no, Chat I’m sorry.” Quickly she slipped back over and picked him up into a hug. “Please don’t cry kitty, Bugaboo’s here.” The founders had followed the group out of the meeting room and they as well as the heroes on the deck were all watching intently at the situation. “I didn’t mean it. It’s just- We can’t be together.”

“Why not?!” Chat asked angrily as he pulled himself away from her shoulder. “Who captured your heart before I could?!”

Ladybug was quietly happy; even in pain and sorrow, Chat could still be a poet. But then she took a deep breath and looked him dead in the eye so she could answer him. “Adrien. Adrien Agreste.”

**(Go to YouTube and find an extended version of the song “In the Rain” from the official Miraculous Ladybug show. You’ll probably know it best from “The Umbrella Scene”.)**

Chat froze still, staring at his partner. “A-Agreste?” Ladybug gave a small, insecure nod. Then Chat’s voice started shuddering again; but not in sadness this time, he appeared to be giving a light chuckle which gradually grew louder and kinder. This confused Ladybug and the others (except Tim. He knew just where this was going). “I wish you would’ve told me sooner. Would’ve saved us some time and a few headaches.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Instead of giving a straight answer, Chat just looked straight at his lady and smiled, wiping the tears and nasal blood from his face as best he could before he placed his right hand on her shoulder. “Claws In.” Ladybug’s eyes went wide with fear and before she could ask what he was doing, Chat’s suit quickly vanished and in his place knelt the young man Marinette had met all those years ago at school.

“A-Adrien?” Ladybug’s face went red and tears came to her eyes as well.

“Hello, my lady.” The young man smirked. Ladybug just started weeping herself and collapsed into Adrien’s arms, crying like she had just had her heart broken. Adrien was surprised at first but he grew to accept it and held his lady in a tight embrace.

Then, as he helped them both stand up, he heard her quietly whisper something; “Spots Off.” Then she suddenly flashed bright pink and Adrien felt the warmth of a young woman’s skin on his back instead of the material of her suit.

Then she pulled away and let Adrien see who she really was, surprising him very heavily. “Marinette?!”

She just smiled, tears still flowing from her bluebell eyes. “Hi, kitty.” Adrien couldn’t think of anything to say so he simply pulled her face to his and gave her a deep passionate kiss. Marinette’s eyes initially went wide with shock and she almost wanted to pull away, but after a few seconds, she got into it and snaked her arms around his neck, her eyes closing in love. Everyone smiled and some even gave a kind “Aww…” at the display.

Tim smirked as he walked up to Bruce. “See? We told you; relationships in the team don’t lead to problems. Only a stronger team.”

Bruce chuckled. “Yeah… I guess you’re right.”

Finally, the two broke their kiss and just stood on the walkway, hugging each other and smiling. “Marinette? I love you…”

“I love you too Adrien.” And thus began the greatest stage of the two teens’ lives; their love, and their membership in the Justice League.


	6. Training

After their romantic moment of watching the stars, Marinette and Adrien were led to the Watchtower’s training deck by Tim.

“Far as we’ve been able to tell from your past fights, you each have your own specific style of combat.” He turned to Adrien first. “Yours seems like a fusion of simple karate and kung-fu. But I’ve seen that you’re also pretty good at staff-fighting and seem to have a handle on the basics of eskrima. I leave anything out?”

“I’ve also been taking fencing lessons for a while.” Then he flipped his hair. “And I don’t like to brag, but I also happen to be fluent in Chinese.”

“Nǐ hé yībàn de rén zài zhèlǐ, háizi,” Tim smirked. (Translation: “You and half the people here, kid.”) Then he turned to Marinette. “You, however… seem to rely on fighting with your yo-yo. But I’ve also noticed that you know some Muay Thai.”

“Wait, you know Muay Thai?” Adrien was surprised; he didn’t think Marinette was the type for a fighting style like that.

“Self-defense classes. Just because Paris is the city of love doesn’t mean there wasn’t some crime before Hawk Moth showed up.” Then something occurred to her. “That reminds me; Tim, you managed to figure out who _we_ were just from our biometrics. Do you think you could do the same for Hawk Moth?”

“Believe me, me and every other League-affiliated computer expert on earth have been trying ever since he showed himself on that ‘Heroes’ Day’ you made up.” Tim then pulled up a hologram of the villain from that same day on his glove’s projector. “Problem is his mask covers his whole head as opposed to your simple domino masks, and we can’t be sure if it changes his eye-color like Adrien’s does or not, so all we’ve got to go on right now is physical proportions, possible age-range, and skin-tone. And even then, that still leaves us with a pretty broad range to sift through. Still, it’s only a matter of time.” Then he put away the hologram. “But enough of that. Training time. Let’s see what you can do.” Then he moved to one side and showed the two a large array of training equipment. Adrien’s eyes were quickly drawn to the salmon ladder near the far wall.

“Yeah, that’s mine.” He was spooked but saw that voice did indeed belong to Oliver, who was suddenly behind me. “I’ve basically centralized my workout around it. Course I’d basically have to; being an archer means you need a lot of arm strength.”

Adrien glanced back over at the ladder before pointing his thumb at it. “May I?”

“Be my guest.” Marinette giggled as she watched Adrien run over to the ladder with a giddy expression on his face. Then she saw a blonde young woman in a white bodysuit come out of the shadows. Oliver smirked as he walked in front of the young girl. “Marinette, this is Sara Lance aka White Canary.”

“Wait, as in-?”

“Dinah’s my sister. Ollie here wanted me to give you some training in how to use that yo-yo of yours better.”

“I’d let you, but Tikki’s catching up with Diana and I don’t want to interrupt.” Marinette shrugged.

“Well good thing I came prepared.” Sara threw her a yo-yo which she easily caught. “Got that from Arkham’s evidence lock-up last time they put Toyman in there. Got the blades removed and everything.”

Marinette was confused about that but decided not to ask. She gave the toy a few test-spins and it felt about as good as her usual weapon. “Not bad. So you think you can train me?”

“I do.” Sara let a brass censer on a chain fall to the floor. “Better question; do you think you can keep up?”

“I think we’re about to find out.” Quickly she let the yo-yo fly at Sara, but she just spun the censer and knocked it back. The two kept this up for a good few minutes with Sara giving Marinette pointers with every collision as Tim and Oliver were wrapped up in a staff-fight sparring match with Adrien. Finally, they finished their sparring just as Barry rocketed in.

“Just heard back from Dr. Wells; he’s set up extra security for the truck going through Paris and rescheduled it for the afternoon,” he said quickly.

“Good.” Then Oliver turned to the kids. “Get ready. If Scarecrow’s still planning on hitting that truck, he’ll have to go through both of you. And just for good measure, I’ll be coming over with my team too.”

“You’re going to be helping us?” asked Adrien, surprised.

“A chance to fight Scarecrow and save Paris? We wouldn’t miss that for the world.” Oliver smirked as he grabbed up his bow and left.

Tim smiled. “You guys ready to head home?” Both teens nodded and once they were back in uniform, they were teleported back to the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Chat shook his head at the sensation. “Whew. That’s gonna take some getting-used-to.”

“Yeah well…” Ladybug smiled at her partner, still with tear-streaks on her face from earlier that evening. Chat smiled back as he stood up next to her. “See you tomorrow, kitty.”

“Count on it, my lady.” He gave her a quick kiss before the two locked together in a hug. After a few seconds, Ladybug broke it and swung away home. Chat watched her disappear before he finally turned away and bounded back to his own mansion. He had finally done it; he had found out who his Ladybug was under her mask. And he was in awe. And both of them were more than prepared for the following afternoon.


	7. Queen Party

Marinette always loved the weekend; it meant she could sleep in and then design all day. Which she would’ve done today as well if not for the fact that thanks to her new partnership with Oliver Queen, who was coming into Paris that day with some friends under the pretense of coming to throw a party, when in reality, he and his team were coming to help the young girl fight the Scarecrow.

With this in mind, she forced herself out of her bed and stretched before quickly getting dressed and setting her hair in its usual pigtails. Then she walked downstairs to the family residential area of the bakery for breakfast. “Well, you’re up early. What’s the story?” asked her mother.

“Oh nothing major, Mom. Just planning on going out for an inspiration walk.” With that said, Marinette started her breakfast.

“Alright dear, just watch your step. I heard there’s a speedster in town,” Marinette almost failed to suppress a snicker when she realized her mother was talking about Impulse, who she had actually had the pleasure of meeting.

“Y-Yeah, I heard about that,” she said convincingly as she quickly finished her breakfast, gathered her stuff and walked over to give her mother the usual familial peck on the cheek. “I’ll be careful, Mom. Bye.” With that said, she walked out of the bakery and made her way across the street to the school gym, where she knew Adrien would be for his Saturday morning fencing practice. And indeed, there he was, swinging away at his opponent who, even through his thick mask, appeared to not even be trying and was in-fact maintaining a single long humming tone, almost like he was meditating.

Then in one unbelievable move, the unknown boy sent Adrien’s foil flying out of his hand, leaving the young model unarmed. Then without even thinking about it, he touched the tip of his blade to Adrien’s chest. The instructor, M. D'Argencourt, raised his hand to the opponent. “Point! We have a winner.” Once this was said, this same opponent tossed his sword to one side and removed his mask, revealing the face of a strong young American man not much taller than Adrien with brown eyes and scruffy blonde hair, which he ruffled as he removed his glove to extend his hand to Adrien.

“Good match, Agreste,” he said in almost perfect French. “You’re pretty skilled with that thing.”

“Thanks,” Adrien removed his own glove and shook his hand. “You’re not too bad yourself, Mister…?”

“Bond. James Bond.” Adrien raised an eyebrow at this, but the man just chuckled. “I’m sorry. I- I just couldn’t help it; you set me up for it.” Quickly he cleared his throat and regained composure. “But in all seriousness, my name’s actually Connor Hawke.”

“Cool name.”

“I know, right?” Then he looked over Adrien’s shoulder and smiled. “And who have we here?”

“Huh? Oh Marinette,” Adrien smiled. “When did you get here?”

“J-Just a minute ago,” Marinette stuttered. She still had trouble getting over the fact that Adrien had been her partner for all these years. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Hawke.”

“Pfft. Cmon Marinette, none of that, I’m only 20. Call me Connor.”

“S-Sorry. Connor.” Marinette’s nerves couldn’t help but bring Connor to chuckle. “So what’re you doing in Paris?”

“My father’s on a business trip here,” Connor said as the three started to walk and talk in the direction of the locker room. “Figured he’d bring me along with him.”

“Really? Who’s your father?” Marinette’s question wasn’t exactly answered as Connor simply flashed her a cocky smirk.

“You’ll know.” Then he saw someone behind them and smiled. “Hey, Digg.”

“How ya doin’ Connor?” Marinette and Adrien were a bit surprised but when they turned and saw the source of the voice; an African-American man wearing a black Queen Consolidated t-shirt under his leather jacket.

“Uh, kinda tired. Gimme a minute to change and we can ride.” Connor smirked at Marinette as he walked into the locker room. “Feel free to get to know each other. Adrien? Let’s get decent, kay?”

“Y-Yeah, okay,” Adrien said unsure as he followed his opponent into the locker room.

“Nice to meet you, kid. Name’s John Diggle; personal security specialist.”

“A pleasure. Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” She smiled as she shook his hand, which was actually apparently very strong. “So Connor can afford a bodyguard?”

“Well not himself. He has to get the money from somewhere. Namely his father. Oliver Queen?” Marinette was amazed; Connor was Oliver’s son?

“Wait, you work for Oliver Queen?”

“By his side 24/7. Even in his evening work.” Marinette was confused by that.

“Relax. He means Dad’s evening archery practice, not the sex.” Marinette was spooked by Connor suddenly being behind her, now changed into jeans and a red jacket over a white t-shirt. Adrien had changed as well, now wearing his usual civilian clothes. “God knows he’s got _that_ handled.”

“Wait, you-?”

“I should. I’m Guardian,” he said quietly. “Anyway, Oliver wanted to meet you two at the hotel, so let’s go.”

“Uh, I don’t think I can. My driver’s expecting me outside,” said Adrien. Then he glanced to one side and saw the large man coming toward him. “Correction; he’s right there.”

“Whew. You sure he doesn’t take a little Venom on the side?” asked Connor.

“I wouldn’t say stuff like that if I were you,” Adrien whispered.

“Hey, relax man. I’ll be taking over for Adrien’s security needs for today,” said John. Adrien’s bodyguard didn’t relent and still stood stoic as ever. “Listen man, I served three tours in the Middle-East to get to where I am. I could drop you before you even realized it so if I were you, I’d back off.” The massive man simply frowned and seemed about ready to give a low growl. John seemed ready to move for the pistol latched to his hip until Adrien moved up.

“Listen big guy, just tell Father that I’ll be out a little later than usual talking to Oliver Queen.” That seemed to make the giant relent in surprise, but Adrien just smiled. “Yeah, that’s what we’re talkin’ here. Adieu.” With that, the large man simply turned and walked away back to the car. Adrien looked at Digg and smirked. “That’s all it takes. A few right words and we’re golden.”

John smiled. “I see why Oliver likes you. Cmon, car’s this way.” Once they were at the car, it was a short drive to their destination, though the sight of said destination made Marinette a bit worried. And disgusted.

“Le Grand Paris? You’re kidding me.”

“Relax. Dad hates this place as much as the next guy,” Connor assured. “He’s just staying here because the suites are cheap. At least by his standards. Plus there are plenty of places for heroes like us to change undetected… as you two can attest to.”

“Yeah but we kinda have a ‘not-so-positive’ relationship with the owner’s daughter.” Adrien shrugged.

“Bourgeois?” Connor just scoffed. “Please. Her dad is basically _terrified_ of families like the Queens.”

“Because you have more money than them or because your dad dresses up like Robin Hood to fight criminals?” Adrien asked jokingly.

“The first thing, but also because we’re more successful.” Connor smiled. “I mean face facts here; _one_ hotel and a mayorship? Whoop-de-freakin’-doo. My dad was mayor of Star City ten years ago and he’s C.O.O. for a multi-billion dollar company with branches across the world devoted to literally everything from biotech to record labels. Hell, he could probably even _buy_ Adrien’s father’s company if he wanted to.”

“Wouldn’t advise it,” said Adrien. “My father isn’t exactly the kind of guy you want to work with.”

“So I’ve heard. Now cmon, let’s go.” And with that, Connor led the group into the hotel foyer… and straight into Chloé.

“I’m sorry, our hotel is reservation-only,” she said, looking at a non-existent list on her hand. “And since I don’t see anyone here under the name ‘irrelevant blonde idiot’, you’ll have to go.”

“Check again. And maybe check under Queen this time,” said Connor.

“As in what, Queen of England?”

“As in Queen Consolidated Chief Operating Officer black titanium corporate card, which if I’m not mistaken, is right here.” came a familiar voice. And a quick look at the elevator bay showed that the voice’s owner was exactly who they thought it was; Oliver Queen himself, wearing a green flannel shirt and a pair of old jeans, along with his old black loafers flashing his black leather wallet. “How did fencing go, Connor?”

“Went great, Dad.” Chloé froze in place as she quickly realized that she had just insulted Oliver’s son, who promptly walked straight past her with a cocky smirk on his face. “That D’Argencourt guy knows what he’s doing.”

“So I hear. Let’s go.” With that, the two (followed by John) walked to board an elevator.

Marinette smiled as she and Adrien walked past Chloé, seeing a chance to taunt her. “We’re with them.”

Unfortunately, all she succeeded in doing was making Chloé unfreeze and grab her hand. “Wait-wait-wait-wait-wait! How are you with them? I mean Adrien I understand, he’s famous, but you? You’re just a clumsy nobody! What would they want with you?”

“Well, Ms. Bourgeois, if you must know, it’s because Bruce Wayne and I are planning on starting a new clothing division of both QC and Wayne Enterprises,” said Oliver, quickly coming up with an excuse. “And from little I’ve seen of Ms. Dupain-Cheng’s work on the news, I think she’d be a perfect fit after she graduates.”

Marinette was confused by this but decided to roll with it or they’d be caught. “Well y’know, it just… sounds appealing.” She also had to suppress a giggle when she saw Chloé’s face after hearing this. “Well uh, see ya round Chloé.” With that, she and Adrien simply walked into the elevator as well, letting John press the button for the top floor. Once the doors closed, Marinette swore she could hear Chloé start crying. And she smirked.

Soon enough, the elevator stopped at the top floor and the group walked to the large suite awaiting them, and Oliver opened the doors revealing the entirety of Team Arrow.

“Alright people, fall in. Our local partners are here,” Oliver smiled as he ordered his team to direct their attention to him. “Kids, welcome to the fold for today. You already know who Dinah and Digg are, but then we’ve got Connor aka Red Arrow, Roy Harper over there is Arsenal, that’s Artemis Crock; Tigress, and then we’ve got my cousin Mia as Speedy, my daughter Emiko over there is Arrowette, and then there’s Felicity Smoak, our computer specialist; codenamed Operator. And- W-Wait a minute, where’s Thea? I thought she said she wanted to be in on this.”

“She did. She’s on patrol, casing the truck-route. She’ll meet us at the rendezvous,” Dinah smiled as she pulled out a harmonica and moved to put it to her lips. But then she saw strange confused looks on Marinette and Adrien’s faces. “What? I gotta do something to make sure I don’t blow out my vocal cords, and the only way you’d hear me sing would be if you were my target.” With that, she simply started playing “House of the Rising Sun” as Oliver rolled his eyes.

“Well whatever, just make these two feel at home, alright guys?” asked Oliver. The others gave an affirmative remark as the two newcomers walked around the room, letting their Kwamis out to mingle as well until Felicity laid a tablet on the coffee table. Then Oliver called everyone around it and dimmed the lights as a holographic map was projected out of the tablet, showing the city of Paris.

“Alright, let’s go to work,” Oliver pointed to a point on one end of Paris and then to one on the northwest side, drawing a line between the two points in light on the hologram. “This is the route the truck will be taking. Security will have been tightened thanks to Barry’s message to Dr. Wells, but we can’t let our guard down. Scarecrow’s about as skilled at disabling men as he is crazy and I have no doubt that without us, the convoy will be easy pickings for him. We’ll meet up with Thea- _Sin_ at the rendezvous when the truck enters Paris and we’ll stay with it all the way to the city limits. Once it’s past that point, it’s in the clear. If we encounter Scarecrow anywhere along the way, we bring him down and make sure the truck can continue safely.” The hologram was then deactivated. “Felicity will be on overwatch here, making sure nothing goes south too soon. Everyone clear on the plan?” The whole team gave affirmative remarks. “Good. Time to suit up.”

“Locals first,” Emiko offered.

“Well if you insist,” shrugged Adrien. “Shall we, my lady?”

“Let’s do it, kitty,” Marinette smiled. “Tikki, Spots On!”

“Plagg, Claws Out!” Adrien yelled and the two were quickly encapsulated in red and black, and black and green magic force respectively, forcing Team Arrow to block their eyes from the light before it quickly dissipated and revealed the two teenage superheroes in their suits.

Then Chat started giving a small shake, confusing Ladybug. Eventually, it evolved into full-blown giggling. “What?” Ladybug asked.

“It’s our first time transforming together,” Chat smiled.

“Pfft-” Ladybug broke into a cute giggle as well, but Roy just rolled his eyes at the two.

“How do I look?” asked Chat.

“As always, Chaton; like a real dork.” Ladybug chuckled.

“You haven’t seen my special hero pose yet~” Chat smiled.

Ladybug just blushed. “Oh. Can’t wait to see it.”

“Is this seriously what we have to work with, Oliver?” Roy whispered. “I’d take Cheshire over these two.”

“I heard that,” Roy was confused as to how Chat had heard him until he saw the hero’s leather ears twitch, clearly meaning that they actually _did_ amplify his hearing. He scowled at the young cat.

“Like it or not Roy, this is our team. And we have our mission, so let’s get to it.” Oliver said seriously. “Suit up.” No second order required; everyone quickly donned their suits and assigned weapons (bows for the majority) and once they all suited up, they all went to the rooftop of the hotel and raced along the rooftops of Paris to the rendezvous. Time to go to work.


	8. What do you Fear?

The whole team quickly came to a stop in an alley with a roof overlooking the Parisian city limits and Arrow’s partner and younger sister Sin in the alley with a large van and a few motorcycles.

“Ladybug, Chat, rooftop. Keep your eyes open for anything that shouldn’t be in the area.” Arrow ordered.

“On it.” The two leaped to the rooftop without a second thought and watched the street.

“Anything to report, Sin?” asked Guardian.

“Nah, street’s been quiet for the last few hours. No sign of any disabling tech along the route,” she replied. “With any luck, we’ll have a straight shot across town.”

“Cmon Sis, when have we ever had that kind of luck?” Sin smiled at her brother’s crack, but then she went back to being apprehensive, confusing the emerald archer. “Hey, you okay?”

“Fine, it’s just-” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I think I might need a quick drink.” Quickly she pulled out a flask and took a quick slug out of it. “Not totally sure I’m ready for this.”

“Well, you’d better get ready,” Chat quickly slid down his staff like a fire-pole before he latched it back to his belt. “The truck just made it.” The whole team looked and indeed saw a large armored truck surrounded by security men on motorcycles.

“Alright then,” Arrow quickly boarded his bike and latched his bow to the handlebars. “Chat, get back on the roofs. You and Ladybug keep your eyes on the street ahead of the convoy. Arsenal, go with them. Try and get to know them a little better.” That apparently didn’t sit well with the young man, but he went along with it anyway, letting Chat carry him to the roof. “Sin, Canary and I will be running security on our bikes from the front and sides. Guardian, you’re driving the rest in the van.”

“You got it,” Quickly, the other few archers boarded the van and Guardian took the wheel as the convoy passed by. Arrow, Canary, and Sin quickly drove out to the front of the truck. The drivers were clearly confused, but Arrow just gave a small salute and pointed to the roofs to indicate the Bug and Cat, as well as his own partner. The drivers quickly got the picture and saluted back to the archer as they continued driving.

Canary quickly turned on her communicator. “Operator, anything to report yet?”

“ _Negative,_ ” Felicity replied. “ _Route_ _looks quiet all the way through town._ ” Then she saw something. “ _Oh boy._ ”

“What’s wrong, Felicity?” asked Arsenal.

“ _Uh, heads-up guys; you’re about to have company._ ” And she was right; while they were running along the roofs, Chat’s ears twitched again letting him hear something mechanical not far ahead of them. A swift glance down the street was possibly the worst mistake of his life as he saw a massive armor-plated combine harvester driving down the street after the convoy with Scarecrow at the controls.

“Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me!” His outburst quickly drew the others’ attention as they saw the vehicle thundering along the street after the truck.

“Oh shit!”

“Yeah Arsenal, I guess that’s one way to word that,” Arrow said simply. “But I’d watch my language around the kids if I were you.” Then he turned his gaze to his fiancé. “What do ya say you sing ole Johnny here a song, birdy?”

“I say… how bout a high C?” With that, she quickly took a deep breath and let out a massive sonic scream at the large combine, setting off some car alarms in the area, but also knocking some of the front armor plating off the combine. “Arsenal!”

“On it!” The young man quickly launched a grappling hook out of his bionic right arm to a taller building and swung out over the street and pulled an M72 LAW rocket launcher off his back, aiming it at the large vehicle. “Fire in the hole!” A quick press of the trigger button on the weapon’s top, and a small but powerful explosive quickly shot out of the weapon and exploded on contact with the large combine, and while it stopped moving the massive harvest blades were still spinning, ready to shred anything that got too close.

“Keep going! We’ll deal with this!” Arrow yelled to the truck drivers. They quickly gave a thumbs-up and kept driving with Guardian following. Then Sin noticed something on the harvester.

“Turrets!” And indeed there was a large auto-targeting machine gun turret on the vehicle that was still functional. And tracking the truck.

“I got it!” Tigress quickly jumped out of the van and pulled out a small handheld crossbow which she quickly fired at the main body of the gun, but it didn’t seem to do anything for a second. Until it gave a few high-pitched beeps and exploded, blowing the gun up, at which point Tigress just smirked as she, Arsenal and the two Miraculous heroes joined Arrow, Canary and Sin on the ground in front of the large vehicle.

“Harvest’s over, Scarecrow,” Chat smirked. “Looks like time to cut your losses.”

“Oh, I intend to, kitty-cat,” Scarecrow’s growl honestly wigged Ladybug out, this effect only being boosted when he disembarked from his vehicle with a large scimitar on his back which he quickly drew with his left hand and allowed to extend into a scythe. “Starting with you.”

“Don’t bother Jonathan, we have you outmatched.” To emphasize this, Arrow drew his bow, as did Sin, Arsenal, and Tigress. Ladybug and Chat readied their weapons as well and stood strong with Canary, but Chat retained his smirk.

“Do you remember why I wear this mask, Green Arrow?” Scarecrow’s question confused the Emerald Archer and his team as the villain reached around to the back of his belt. “I wear it not only to strike fear into those who know no better but to filter my own toxin out of my breath. My test subjects, however? Are not so lucky.”

Arsenal quickly got the picture before everyone else. “Gas grenade!” Quickly he let his arrow fly at Scarecrow’s arm just as he pulled the aforementioned grenade out from behind his back. The arrow shot into his arm and knocked the grenade to the ground. Without the pin, which was still looped around Scarecrow’s thumb.

The villain laughed. “Enjoy your fears. I certainly will.” With that, he quickly pulled the arrow out of his arm and hit a button on the side of the combine, letting a motorcycle down on a rig attached to the large harvester. Once it hit the ground, Scarecrow jumped onto it and raced after the truck just as the grenade exploded in a large cloud of green gas that started spreading.

“Fear toxin! No one breathe!” Canary ordered as the cloud spread closer.

“I got this!” Arsenal quickly lowered his bow and let something else cycle out of his bionic wrist; something that turned out to be a small but powerful sonic blaster which blasted a tunnel through the cloud. Quickly he jumped through it and dropped a gas grenade of his own, which exploded into a blue gas-cloud which seemed to cancel out the green one.

“Where’d you get an antidote bomb on this sort of time-frame?” Arrow was rightly confused; they hadn’t had time to create the antidote since they’d been here, much-less load it into gas bombs.

“Courtesy of Red Hood.” Arrow rolled his eyes at his own ignorance; Arsenal and Red Hood had been friends since they were kids, so it really wasn’t much of a surprise. “Now if I’m not mistaken, we have a scarecrow to take down.”

“I’ll get him!” Chat smirked as he quickly ran ahead of the others at an honestly quite incredible speed.

“Chat, wait up!” Ladybug quickly swung after him to make sure he didn’t get himself killed or poisoned. Arsenal decided he might as well help out so he quickly prepared his grappling line.

But before he could fire it… “ _Uh, guys?_ ” It was Felicity. “ _The convoy’s got a problem._ ”

“What kinda problem?” Sin’s question was suddenly answered by a pair of large red lasers being blasted into the sky further down the road near the River Seine.

“ _…That kind._ ” Felicity said simply.


	9. Legionnaires

“Patch me through to Guardian.” Arrow’s order was quickly followed as his earpiece switched to gunfire and laser-blasts. “Guardian, what’s going on over there?”

“It’s Black Manta!” Guardian shouted as he fired his guns out. “He blew the bridge, and now he’s trying to kill everyone here, including us!”

“Hang on Digg, we’re on our way.” Arrow hung up and growled. “Great. Manta’s working with Scarecrow again? This should be fun.”

“Think we should call Orin?” Canary asked as the team set their bikes back up.

“Why not? No way he’d pass up a chance like this.” Arrow smirked as he turned on the comms. “Green Arrow to Aquaman-”

“ _Way ahead of ya. I saw Manta on the news; I’m on my way down the Seine now._ ”

“Roger that. We’ll meet you there.” Then he hung up. “Arsenal, lead the way and catch up with the kids. The rest of you, ride with me!”

“You got it!” Arsenal then quickly blasted his grappling line and started running along the rooftops. At the bridge, Black Manta was indeed blasting his helmet lasers around at anyone who tried to get in his way with a few blasts even shooting past Ladybug and Chat as they quickly took cover behind some rubble.

“Okay, so now we have to deal with this. Great.” Ladybug rolled her eyes as she pulled out her yo-yo. “Any ideas, Chaton?”

“Why are you asking me? You’re the one who always comes up with the take-down plans.” Suddenly Red Arrow slid toward their cover as he fired an arrow before he scuttled over.

“Scrooch over, guys! Don’t wanna die!” Once he was in cover, he started firing blindly at Manta only for most of his arrows to be vaporized by the villain’s eye-beams. Ladybug and Chat looked around and saw the rest of Team Arrow there as well, firing toward Manta as best as they could, but their shots barely worked.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a plan for how to deal with this guy, would you Red?” Ladybug’s question was answered by a loud splash from the river and loud twang of metal-on-metal, somehow knocking Manta to the ground. Then a large five-pointed gold trident stuck into the ground just below Ladybug’s foot, scaring her beyond words.

“My bad!” a strong voice yelled as he jogged over and grabbed the weapon. Once he did, Ladybug and Chat saw just who had thrown this trident; Aquaman. “Sorry about that.”

“N-No problem.” Ladybug blushed. She may have been in love with Chat, but she couldn’t deny that the great Atlantean _did_ impress her, in a manner of speaking.

Red Arrow chuckled as he stood up. “Well…” He pointed to the King of Atlantis with his bow. “You did say you wanted a plan.”

“No offense, but are we sure one guy is enough to take down someone like _that?!_ ” Chat pointed to Manta, who was pulling himself from the ground and readjusting his helmet.

Aquaman gave a kind chuckle. “You don’t know me very well, do ya?”

“Well, we _did_ only just join the League last night.” That comment from Chat made Ladybug worried; if she knew Alya like she _thought_ she knew Alya, then the budding journalist must’ve been around a corner somewhere with her phone recording the fight, which would not only be incredibly dangerous and stupid even for Alya, but it might mean that she now knew that Ladybug and Chat Noir were part of the Justice League, and they did _not_ need _that_ kind of publicity… yet. She would welcome it with enough time, but right now was not a good time. Thankfully, after a quick look around the area, she couldn’t see Alya anywhere… until she looked down the street and saw Alya hiding in a subway station, recording just as she thought she would be.

“I guess that’s fair.” Suddenly a large blast shot from Manta’s helmet and pushed Aquaman down the street a few yards before he drove his trident into the ground and held himself by that. The blast gave him some minor burns on his arm, but otherwise, it didn’t even seem to faze him as he simply pulled his trident from the street and cracked his neck before a stern look appeared on his face. “Now if you kids will excuse me, it’s time the King defeated the Black Knight personally.” Then without much more warning, he shot himself down the street and punched Manta right in the gut, knocking him back to the broken bridge.

Manta simply pulled a large rifle off his back and telescoped a long blade out of his left arm before he charged the Atlantean king, firing the gun and his helmet-rays at nearly the same time. Aquaman just gave a powerful laugh as he spun his trident, deflecting the blasts and then locking blades with Manta, somehow resulting in a large shockwave.

“Whoa! This is awesome!” Chat grinned hugely as the wind from the shockwave blew through his hair.

“Yeah, that’s Aquaman for you.” Green Arrow smiled as he slid over. “He may like to party, but when he throws down, he throws down _hard!_ ”

Chat smiled. “Let’s give him some back-up!” With that, he jumped over the rubble and charged at Black Manta, spinning his staff on one hand before he gave the villain one good strong whack across the face, allowing Aquaman to knock him further away down the street. The three then quickly got caught up in a duel and Chat was nearly blasted before he quickly spun out of the way. “Okay, I know you’re our enemy, but those lasers are actually pretty awesome. Mind if I ask how they work?”

“It’s Atlantean tech,” Aquaman answered as he locked his trident onto the villain’s blade. “It turns water into high-powered beams of plasma.”

“Water-powered? Huh, that seems kinda hard to use, even for Atlanteans.”

“Yeah, it is. Why do you think I always fight with this thing?” Aquaman slashed the head of his trident at the water-tubes connected to the villain’s helmet, but it just twanged off. “What?”

“Promethium-metal plating,” Manta smirked under his helmet. “Your weapons can’t scratch it.”

“Well, then how about this?” Chat shot around behind Manta and smirked. “Cataclysm!” His paw began sparking and with one quick scratch across the tubes, the metal began to rust away exposing the tubes themselves.

“What?! How is this possible?” Manta was right to ask; he had no idea Chat could do this sort of thing.

“Nice one, kid.” Aquaman smiled. “I’ll take it from here.” He tried to slash the tubes again and this time the blade left a clean cut through them, making water spill out onto the pavement. Once the splashing started, Aquaman smiled. With a wave of his hands, he pulled the water from the ground _and_ Manta’s suit and formed it into some sort of water-broadsword in his free hand, which he quickly used to slash Manta’s arm-blade off and then used it to pin the rifle to a far wall before pointing his trident at the villain’s neck. “Stand down, David. You’re chum in the water. And Jaws is hungry.”

“Oho man, I love that movie!” Chat smiled.

“Right?! It’s actually a lot more accurate than you think because there actually _are_ sharks like that in the sea.” He quickly caught this and raised his hand. “But don’t worry; they almost always hang around Atlantis, rarely going into the open sea.”

“Okay, cool.” Chat smiled as he pointed his staff back at Manta. “Still though, I’d listen to this guy if I were you, pal.”

Manta just laughed. “You honestly think I’d only have _one_ water-tank in this suit anymore, half-breed?” Suddenly his eye-lasers started warming up again and Aquaman quickly got worried about Chat.

“Hit the deck!” Too late: Manta already fired, but Chat just spun his staff on his hands as fast as he could, generating a sort-of barrier which dispersed the plasma. Once the blasts stopped, Chat posed strongly and smirked, taunting the villain by twitching his fingers toward him in a “Come at me, bro” manner. Naturally, this pissed Manta off and he just charged Chat, getting the two wrapped up in a large battle.

Unfortunately, this battle had made Chat forget that he had already used his power and when he checked his ring, he was distressed to see that he was down to his last pad. “M’Lady, tag in!”

“Go ahead, Chaton. I’ve got you covered!” Ladybug smiled as she jumped in and banged Manta’s helmet with her yo-yo, distracting him long enough for Chat to escape and run down an alley.

Unfortunately, Tigress saw Alya run toward the alley as well to try and sneak a peek at who Chat was under the mask. Quickly, she pulled out her crossbow and fired a cable-bolt which pulled her over to the opening of the alley and get in her way. “Ohh no ya don’t, kid. Heroes need their privacy at times like this.”

“Cmon kitty-cat, I run the LadyBlog. My viewers and I have a right to see who he is under that suit.” Alya argued.

“Look kid, I get where you’re comin’ from, really I do; the Lisbonne Law and all that, but in case you missed it, we’re dealing with an _actual_ murderous mercenary down there!” Then Tigress saw a familiar motorcycle finally screech up along another street and its scythe-wielding driver pull out a grenade launcher. “And also that guy. Hang on!” Quickly, she grabbed Alya and fired a zipline-bolt up to the roof, zipping up. “Heads-up, Chat!”

Adrien and Plagg quickly got the picture and ducked behind a dumpster down the alley as the grenade flew down and exploded into a cloud of fear gas. Quickly Tigress fired two small darts full of the antidote at them both, making them immune to the effects of the gas. “Thanks, cousin!”

“ _Goddamn it, Agreste._ ” Tigress thought as Alya’s smile went wide.

“Tigress, you’re cousins with Chat Noir?!” she asked happily.

“Of course not! It’s a compliment. We’re both cats, remember? Now just stay here and stay low until we’re done. I’ve gotta go help deal with the ragdoll and Chat needs to deal with the oversized stingray.” Quickly Chat jumped up to the roof to join the two.

“Then how’s about a ride down, Tigress?” Before she could answer, Chat wrapped an arm around her waist and jumped down from the roof and allowed her to drop-kick Scarecrow in the face, knocking him off his bike. Once they landed, the two smirked at each other before Tigress realized his hand was still there and blushed a bit.

“Uh, I feel a need to remind you that I’m engaged to Impulse.” Chat quickly got the picture and moved his hand, blushing as well.

“Ooh. Uh, sorry.” Then his ear twitched to hear Ladybug and Aquaman still grunting against Manta. “I’m gonna-” He gave a small nod. “Yeah.” He ran off to aid his partner, leaving Tigress shaking her head.

“What do you see in that guy, Ladybug?” she groaned. But then she just shot Scarecrow with a taser-bolt without looking, knocking him to the ground. She smirked at that as she cuffed him before walking back to the rest of Team Arrow. “Y’know, it’s kinda funny in an ironic way; you’d think he would’ve gotten his suit electricity-proofed by now, but nope!”

“His mask is a burlap sack with eyeholes, Tigress.” Arrowette always did tend to be the realistic one. “How do you electro-proof a burlap sack?”

“Mm, fair point.” Tigress shrugged. “Think we’re done here?”

“Not yet.” Guardian pointed out as he looked to the 3-on-1 fight further down the street.

“Lucky Charm!” Ladybug’s power sparked to life and this time, the item that fell into her hands confused her even more. “A lump of clay?”

“Ha! You honestly think you can take me down with _that?_ ” Manta laughed. “You’re dumber than I thought.”

He was going to be eating his words soon as Ladybug quickly darted her eyes around the battle-field as Chat and Aquaman distracted the mercenary. Her Lucky Sight quickly highlighted a few items; the clay, the catches on Manta’s helmet and what looked like auxiliary water-tubes to fuel his helmet-systems.

Once she was done, she smirked. “Chat, the catches!”

“On it!” Quickly he charged and activated his power again, quickly slashing his claws across the catches which made them rust away.

“I like where this is going!” Aquaman smiled as he quickly back-flipped and kicked the helmet off of Manta’s armor, to reveal the villain was an African man with brown eyes and an admittedly epic mustache (Seriously. Manta’s mustache in this storyline is awesome. You should look at his picture). Ladybug flipped over the criminal and stuck two small plugs she pulled from her lump of clay into the tubes, plugging them. Then she grabbed Chat and Aquaman and zipped to the top of the building Alya was on. “What’re you doing?! He’s going to get his helmet back on.”

“I know. That’s the plan.” Ladybug’s confident tone confused the two heroes as well as the young reporter, but they decided to roll with it as Alya aimed the camera at the criminal below.

Manta just got up angrily and replaced his helmet, just as Aquaman said he would, latching it on with auxiliary catches. “You honestly think that a few lumps of clay would be enough to stop me, insect? Pathetic!” But when he tried to fire his eye-beams again, something interesting happened: Nothing. The lenses didn’t even flicker with energy. “What?!” He tried again, turning the water-pressure up much higher than usual and this time the lenses started sparking.

“Wait for it…” Ladybug smiled. Suddenly the lenses burst, sending water everywhere and sending Manta to the ground from the pain in his face.

“Whoa!” Chat slid back on the roof to avoid the large splash that came up. “Impressive, my Lady.”

“How’d you know that would work?” Aquaman asked.

“Simple; the streets in this part of town have limestone pavement, and your fight already thoroughly destroyed them.” Ladybug smiled. “Roll some limestone into the clay and add water…”

“And you get instant cement!” Chat finished with a smile. “Very clever, Bugaboo.”

Ladybug giggled. “Well, I do try Kitty.” She placed a gentle peck on her partner’s cheek, shocking Alya beyond words. “Now then… let’s finish this up.”

“Sounds good to me.” Chat quickly back-flipped off the roof along with Aquaman and the two ripped Manta out of his armor, revealing he was wearing a black bodysuit under it (and also that he had some significant lacerations on his face from the broken lenses) before allowing Guardian to cuff him. “All yours, My Lady!”

Ladybug smiled as she tossed the remaining clay into the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!” Once the clay went up and burst, everything was quickly put back in order, including undoing the damage to Manta’s face and armor.

Then she jumped down next to Chat and did their usual fist-bump with him. “Pound it!” they both said.

“We’ll take it from here.” Black Canary smiled as she helped the truck-drivers back into their transport. “S.T.A.R. Labs is probably missing their delivery by now, and I’m sure there are some guys in Arkham Asylum who would _love_ to see Jon and David again.”

“I can take them to Arkham if you guys want to finish the escort job.” Aquaman shrugged as he placed a hand on each of the criminals’ shoulders.

“Uh, excuse me?!” Alya called from above. “Little help?”

“Oh right, hang on.” Chat quickly extended his pole up to her level and she slid down it to the ground.

“Thanks, Chat.” Then she pulled out her phone. “Now could you tell your fans when you guys joined up with the Justice League? And also, what was up with that kiss Ladybug?” Alya continued to bombard these two and the other present superheroes with questions.

“No comment.” Green Arrow said, naturally speaking for his whole team as they got back on their bikes.

“Hey Arrow, cmon! At least gimme something! _Anything!_ I’ll take it!” Alya said as she tried to stop the archers from leaving.

“Alright then. But first, let me ask _you_ a question; you ever read Clark Kent’s book ‘Under a Yellow Sun’?” Arrow smiled.

“Oh yeah, I _love_ it.”

“Good. Then you must remember the rules he listed in the back cover.” Arrow donned his helmet. “Specifically Rule 3; ‘Know when to walk away before you get killed’.” With that, the archers all drove away along with the truck.

Alya scoffed at that, but then she turned and smiled at Aquaman. “King Orin! Can I get a comment from you, please?”

“Normally yes, but I’m afraid I don’t have any time. Especially with these guys to deal with.” Aquaman quickly cut loose an abandoned boat in the river and loaded the prisoners into it, tying them to the seats with the halting line before he tossed their gear in as well and lashed the boat to his own shoulders with an anchor-line. “Besides, officially speaking, I’m not supposed to be here for my interview with Superman and Ms. Chamack for another three weeks. See ya!” With that, he began pulling the boat at incredible speeds, quickly disappearing across the horizon.

Alya growled in annoyance, even moreso when she turned to see that Ladybug and Chat had disappeared. “Sheesh. A veritable _army_ of superheroes show up in Paris and I can’t get a comment from any of them.” Then she shrugged. “Ah well, this oughtta be enough. Oop. Wait. Outro!” Quickly, she pulled her phone back out and turned on the selfie-recorder. “And there you have it folks; based on what I got today, I’d say it’s fair ground to say that not only are Ladybug and Chat Noir finally an item but now they’re part of the Justice League! Stay tuned for more LadyBlog updates and remember to keep an eye out for that book Arrow mentioned; ‘Under a Yellow Sun’ by _Daily Planet_ reporter Clark Kent. This is Alya Césaire signing off for now. Bug out!” With that, she finished recording and quickly left for home to edit and post this newest video.

Unfortunately for the teenage heroes themselves, they had hidden down another alley to de-transform and Marinette groaned as they heard that. “Great. This is gonna make for an awkward next few fights.”

“What’re you talking about? We’re gonna get to fight alongside some of the greatest superheroes on Earth, Mari. This is awesome!” Then he smiled. “Besides, I thought you’d be happy about our relationship being made public.”

Marinette blushed at that. “I don’t mind our _hero_ relationship being known. But I think we should keep our _civilian_ relationship a secret for now because… y’know… Chloé.”

“Woof. Nuff said, my lady.” Adrien smirked as a car drove up outside the alley. And then who should roll down the window but Digg.

“You kids want a ride home?”

“That’d be great Digg, thanks.” Adrien smiled as the two boarded the car and Digg drove off down the avenue. This was going to be one of the best things to happen to them.


	10. Message from Robin Hood

Once Adrien made it home, he was almost afraid of what his father would say about ditching his security man to hang out with Oliver Queen. He left Digg’s car and let him drive away before he walked up and opened the door, and by some amazing stroke of luck, his father wasn’t there and nor were Natalie or his bodyguard. Quickly, he moved to his bedroom and closed himself in, relieved.

“Nice moves, kid,” Plagg smirked as he flew out of the boy’s jacket.

“Thanks. I’m honestly shocked I didn’t get caught.” Adrien shrugged. “Guess I picked up some stealth from Tim.”

“Ironic seeing as how you haven’t even been on _one_ job with him yet.” The voice surprised Adrien beyond words until he saw Speedy on the upper terrace of his room.

“Merde Mia, are you trying to give me a heart attack?!” he panted in shock.

“Hey, my boss was trained by the League of Assassins before he put on the mask. What’d you expect?” Speedy smirked as she jumped down to the floor. “But just so we’re clear, I didn't tell you that.”

Adrien was still surprised by her appearance and this news, but he nodded. “So why are you here?”

“Believe it or not, Batman sent me,” Speedy smirked as she pulled her hood down. “Wanted to see if you and your little spotted friend wanted to head over to Gotham tonight to run interrogation at Arkham Asylum; see why Crane was in town this week.”

Adrien was about to answer when he heard the doorknob jiggle and glanced back to see it opening. Plagg quickly ducked into Adrien’s jacket and when the boy looked back to Speedy with fear in his eyes, she was suddenly gone, which just confused him. “Wha- How did-?”

“Adrien, what’s going on in here?” Adrien let his face fall when he heard that voice; his father had finally decided to pay him a visit in his own room. Last time he had done that was years ago. “What was this your security man told me about you abandoning him to spend time with Queen?”

“Oliver just wanted to discuss a business arrangement with him, sir.” Gabriel was surprised when he heard this new voice, as was Adrien. They both looked and saw Mia in her street clothes standing behind the old man. “Sorry hi, Mia Dearden; counselor at Star City Youth Center, which as I’m sure you’re aware is funded by-”

“Queen Consolidated. I remember.” Gabriel interrupted. “But I fail to see why Mr. Queen would want to speak with my son when he could’ve just as easily spoken to me.”

“Well, he’s been _trying_  to get in touch with you for the last two weeks, but you haven’t picked up a single one of his calls.” Mia shrugged.

“What are you talking about, Ms. Dearden?” Gabriel pulled out his phone. “The last phone call I got from Oliver Queen was-” Suddenly he stopped, and seemed surprised. Adrien was confused as to why until he looked over his father’s shoulder and saw what was on the screen; 103 missed calls from Oliver over the last two weeks? “-Three minutes ago. Excuse me.” With that, he left leaving Adrien in surprise and confusion as he looked at Mia.

“How did you do that?” he asked.

“You really have no idea how skilled Felicity is with a computer, do you?” Mia smirked.

“No, not that, I- Well okay yes, also very much that but I’m talking about that disappearing act you just pulled.” Adrien pointed to where Mia had been not thirty seconds ago wearing her costume. “How did you do _that_?”

“Again, cousin was trained by the League of Assassins,” Mia smirked. “So… about that visit to Arkham…”

Adrien shrugged. “Eh. I’ll go if Ladybug goes.”

Mia smiled as she suddenly put a finger to her earpiece, listening to her partner on the other side. “Well now, that’s a coincidence; our dear friend the Atom just paid her a visit, asked her the same question and got the same answer.”

Adrien smiled. “Alright then. When do we leave?”

Mia simply grabbed a large duffle bag from the corner and moved to the bathroom. “Three hours. Make sure you have everything you need for handling psychopathic nutcases by then and get to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Once there, you’ll be teleported to the Watchtower and then back down to Devil’s Square in Gotham City. Batgirl and Lark will be there to pick you up and take you to Arkham Island, where Batman and the rest of his team will meet you.”

“Understood.” Adrien smiled. “We’ll be ready.”

“Good.” Mia smiled as she walked back out of the bathroom wearing her full outfit and handed him an earpiece. “That’s your League Communicator. The induction ceremony has to be officially done outside the Hall of Justice in New York City, but after that, you’ll have earned the right to use it. Now if you’ll excuse me, my team leaves for Star City in _two_ hours so I’ve gotta get back to the airport before Oliver has a fit.” Quickly, she opened the window and fired a grappling-arrow which locked onto a distant building. “Adieu!” With that, she zipped away along the cable attached to the arrow thanks to a special winch built into her bow.

“Y’know, something about those archers seriously scares me. You know that, right?” asked Plagg.

“Yeah, I get that.” Adrien shrugged. “But hey, if we’re going to Gotham City, we’d better get ready.” With that in mind, he quickly ate and prepared to leave. Once the “witching hour”, as it were, was upon him he quickly transformed back into Chat Noir and jumped out the window, running to the Eiffel Tower within a few minutes of the deadline where he found his Bugaboo already waiting for him.

“Took you long enough, Tomcat.” Ladybug gave a small giggle as she strutted over and kissed her old partner.

“Well, my mansion isn’t exactly down the street, My Lady.” Chat shrugged. Then he chuckled. “Y’know, it’s ridiculous. Three days ago, I was the only one who actually meant these little affectionate nicknames and now here we are, exchanging them like phone numbers.”

“ _Save the small-talk for later, newbies._ ” A voice insisted over the earpieces the two had. “ _This is Mr. Terrific on the Watchtower, ready to teleport you up whenever you are._ ”

“Later then?” asked Chat. Ladybug smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted herself into a bridal position in his arms.

“Definitely later.” she smiled. “Clear to teleport, Mr. Terrific.”

“ _Roger. Energizing._ ” With that, the two were teleported up to the Watchtower command deck, whereupon they were welcomed by near-instant teleportation _off_ the Watchtower down into a park near a coastline in a rainstorm. Looking up, Ladybug was concerned.

“Uh, Chat?” She pointed and showed her partner that the stormy sky overhead was red.

“Don’t worry about it.” The two looked and saw Lark and the latest Batgirl nearby with motorcycles. It was Lark speaking as he walked over. “Gotham’s always like this. The sky is red thanks to airborne algae and all the pollution from the factories around town.”

“Does it always rain this much?” asked Chat as he let Ladybug down from his arms.

“In spring it does.” Batgirl shrugged. “Now cmon, let’s get to Arkham.”

“Just like that?” asked Ladybug. “No introductions?”

“Y’know there’s a reason they call this park Devil’s Square; lotta street crooks hang here at nights, so the GCPD set surveillance cameras up all over the place,” Lark replied as he climbed onto his bike. “You wanna take off _your_ masks for the cops, that’s just fine. Me, I like my secret identity just the way it is, and so does the big bad bat.”

Chat rolled his eyes. “And there’s the stoicism you Bats are infamous for.”

“It helped our boss get on the cops’ good side in town, didn’t it?” asked Batgirl.

“Look, let’s just get to the asylum. We can talk about secret identities later.” Ladybug relented.

“Fine by me.” Lark shrugged as he revved his motorcycle. “Follow us.” With that and little else, Lark and Batgirl drove out of the park and started heading north with the two other young heroes hot on their tail. Their time here would be almost noir in a manner of speaking, but not enjoyed… whether they knew that or not.


	11. Madmen (pt. 1)

Arkham Asylum; institute and prison for the criminally insane in Gotham and beyond. When I say this place is the bleakest isle in the whole chain that constituted Gotham City, that is absolutely saying something.

Lark and Batgirl pulled up not far from the main gate of the asylum compound to find Batman and the rest of the team already there, including the Huntress. Chat Noir and Ladybug zipped in a few seconds later and stared up at the massive gothic structure.

“Me-yow…” Chat said in awe.

“Yeah. It can be, uh… pretty intimidating.” Red Robin shrugged.

“How ya doin’ Bats?” asked a young woman in a black leather jacket as she approached from the main building.

“Commissioner. Good to see you.” Batman nodded to her. “These are our ride-alongs from Paris for this interrogation. Kids, this is Police Commissioner Ellen Yin.”

“Pleasure.” Ellen nodded. “I just got clearance from Warden Bolton; we’re clear to go down to the interrogation room in Maximum Security. Aquaman just dropped our mutual friends Crane and Hyde off a few hours before you got here.”

“Good.” Batman nodded. “Ladybug and Chat, you two are coming with me and Nightwing to interrogate these guys. Everyone else, spread out over the asylum and help run security.”

“Roger.” Everyone nodded as they all pulled their grappling hooks off their belts.

“Alright,” Adrien smirked. “We’re gonna be doing some ‘Good cop, Bad cop’ here, huh?”

“Nah, kitty-cat,” Nightwing smirked. “‘Good cop, _Bat_ -cop’. And trust me; Bat-cop almost always works better than Good cop.”

“He’s not wrong.” Huntress nodded as she readied her crossbow just to be safe. “Alright, let’s do this.”

“Uh, sorry Huntress,” Yin remarked, pushing the weapon down with one finger. “Director Arkham is concerned about a possible security threat so you’ll have to leave your weapons at the security office.”

“You expect us to go through a building filled with our worst enemies without our weapons?” Black Bat raised an eyebrow under her mask at this.

“Believe me, it smelled hinky to me too, but Arkham security is above my paygrade.” Yin shrugged. “And I’m not about to argue with a guy like Bolton about that.”

“Doesn’t look like we have much choice, Batman.” Nightwing shrugged. “Either we do it or the interrogation doesn’t happen.”

“ _You_ could always argue with him, Nightwing.” Red Robin brought up. “I have a hard time believing he would argue with Gotham’s Cape and Cowl Society.” He smiled at the little expressions of confusion on Ladybug and Chat Noir’s faces. “It’s a… It’s a little nickname the cops have for us Bats. And you’ve gotta admit; it fits, right?”

“Eh, I guess.” Chat nodded.

Nightwing smiled. “Not a bad call, Red.” He looked back to Yin. “Where _is_ Bolton anyway?”

“Right here.” The large warden walked up behind the commissioner. “And I’m sorry to say this Nightwing, but you can argue all you want and it won’t do anything. I’m still gonna need all your gear before you go in there.”

Black Bat rolled her eyes as she removed her utility belt along with all the others and handed them to Bolton. “If something happens to us while we’re in there, I’m blaming you.”

“Just get on with your business and get outta here.” Bolton brushed her off as he walked away with the team’s belts and gear.

“Is he always like this?” asked Ladybug.

“Believe it or not, this is one of his better days.” Batwoman shrugged.

Chat just raised an eyebrow at that. “…Wow…”

“Yeah, you’re tellin’ us.” Red Robin shrugged. “Anyways, might as well get to work.” With that, the rest of the team split up, leaving Batman and Nightwing to walk into the asylum with Chat and Ladybug. Wandering the halls of the asylum, the two young heroes felt more than a bit on edge as they walked past the cells of some of the greatest criminals in the world, a few of whom stared out of their cells with scowls on their faces. Then as they turned a corner and made the mistake of listening down one hall, they heard a strange psychotic laughing that started growing louder.

“Uh…” Chat started to say.

“Just ignore it and keep walking; it’ll save you a lot of nightmares,” Nightwing replied bluntly. A large lightning bolt helped emphasize this point as the one at the end of the hall was none other than the Joker. Quickly, they started to move on all the way to the interrogation room where they found Jonathan Crane and David Hyde waiting for them with Crane in a straight-jacket and Hyde simply handcuffed to the table. He looked up at the opening door and smirked courteously.

“Well-well-well, look who’s come all this way to see us, Jonathan.” His sneer did little to improve the two heroes’ idea of this pirate. “A pleasure to see you again, my young friends.”

“You’ll forgive us if we don’t say the same, Monsieur… Hyde, is it?” Chat asked as he pulled out a chair for Ladybug.

“The same.” David nodded.

“Good.” Chat nodded as he sat down himself. “Now… if you’d be so kind as to tell us why you and Monsieur Crane here were in our city today, that would be very much appreciated.”

Jonathan chuckled. “Well, if you insist…” Chat was a bit surprised by this; Nightwing said _Bat_ -cop always worked best for getting answers in interrogations. “We were just there on orders from an old friend.”

“Old friend?” asked Ladybug.

“Emphasis on ‘old’.” David raised an eyebrow as he said this.

“Vandal Savage.” Nightwing surmised.

“Precisely.” Jonathan nodded. “He wanted us to get those drugs so I could spread my toxin.”

“But why? Who would it-” Nightwing suddenly realized it. “Sinestro.”

“Who?” asked Chat.

“Leader of the Yellow Lantern Corps,” Batman explained. “Their power rings are conduits for the power of the Source Entity for the Yellow Energy of Fear, Parallax.”

“And if someone’s will is broken by fear, then Sinestro will send out another ring to take advantage of that fear.” Nightwing pieced things together as he put his hand on the table. “That’s it, isn’t it? You were trying to turn Paris into a city of Yellow Lanterns.”

“Why stop with Paris?” Jonathan smiled crazily. “Why not all of France?”

“You’re kind of a psycho, you know that?” asked Chat.

David raised an eyebrow. “You do realize where you are right now, right?”

“I think we’ve heard enough.” Batman scowled at the villains before turning to the guards outside the cell. “You can take them back to their cells now.”

“You got it, Batman.” The guards then walked in and did proceed to escort the two criminals out of interrogation.

“Okay, so Scarecrow definitely wasn’t working with Hawk Moth.” Ladybug nodded. “That’s good to know at least.”

“Yeah, but since those two failed, I have a bad feeling Paris is going to have more guests soon.” Chat said thoughtfully. “The question is why? What do they want with Paris?”

“I don’t know,” Nightwing shrugged. “But I doubt any of us are gonna like it.” Suddenly his mask started beeping. He quickly checked its readout and saw that its scanners were going nuts. “Whoa. Didn’t see _this_ coming.”

“What?” asked Chat.

“You two are literally _radiating_ some sort of weird magic that I’ve never seen before,” he answered. “And that’s saying a lot because I’ve hung out with the guys in Dark Justice more than once, and basically their whole _team_ is Homo Magi.”

“Homo what?” asked Chat.

“Homo Magi. Y’know, humans naturally born with magic?” Nightwing shrugged as they walked out. Chat shrugged. “Don’t have those in Paris, huh?”

“Not that I know of.” Chat replied.

Ladybug suddenly stopped. “Wait. Yes, we do. It could be-” Her thought was suddenly interrupted when the alarm went off.

“ALERT. UNPLANNED CELL PURGE.” The computerized voice of the asylum systems blared over the loud-speakers. “SECURITY SITUATION, LEVEL ALPHA-RED. ALL GUARDS TO CONTAINMENT STATIONS.”

“That doesn’t sound good.” Chat said aloud.

“Believe me; it’s not.” Batman quickly took up position to do battle alongside Nightwing and the other two heroes as all the cells in the asylum opened and their prisoners walked out, letting their now depowered metagene-inhibitor collars fall to the floor.

“Alright, guys.” One of the prisoners (who looked like a black skeleton surrounded with some sort of green energy) yelled, generating strange green fireballs on his hands. “Who wants fried bat?!” With that, he tossed the balls at the heroes, who quickly dodged as they exploded on the ground.

“Gonna have to do a lot better than that, Phosphorus,” Nightwing smirked.

“No taunting, Nightwing. We’re surrounded and unarmed.” Batman was right; all the cells in this wing of the asylum were open and their occupants had the heroes boxed in.

“I have an idea.” Chat smiled as he came up with something. “This place has a basement, right?”

“Don’t even think about it, kid,” Nightwing warned. “This hall is directly above Killer Croc’s tank, so unless you wanna be croc-food, we’re better-off up here.”

“WARNING. CONTAINMENT FAILURE. PRISONERS ENTERING EQUIPMENT LOCKUP. SECURITY SITUATION, LEVEL OMEGA-CRIMSON. AUTOMATIC JUSTICE LEAGUE CONTACT SYSTEM DISABLED.”

“What? Only the board and highest-ranking security officers can deactivate that.” Dick raised an eyebrow.

“We’ll worry about that later!” Batman yelled as he did what he could to keep the prisoners back. “Right now, our priority is getting our gear back and getting the prisoners under control.”

“Leave the gear to us.” Ladybug smiled. “Cmon kitty, let’s go!”

“With pleasure, my lady.” Chat smiled as the two jumped up to the rafters. And with great timing as well, as the floor where they were standing suddenly burst upward to reveal Killer Croc himself.

“Oh boy.” Nightwing groaned. “Looks like tonight’s gonna be a long night.”


	12. Madmen (pt. 2)

Quickly, the two Miraculous heroes raced through the asylum, dodging supervillains left and right as they ran toward the security office. As soon as they arrived, they could clearly see something was wrong, and not just because of the large horde of goons at the front door armed with automatic weapons.

“Uh-oh.” Chat voiced simply.

“Light ‘em up, boys!” At this order, the goons let the lead fly, prompting the two heroes to dodge all the way behind the bulletproof glass windows of the security office.

“Phew! Okay, so just to review our situation…” Ladybug was not having a good night tonight. “We’re locked in a lunatic asylum surrounded by gun-toting street-criminals and an army of supervillains. This is definitely not how I thought tonight would go.”

“Eh. Could be worse.” Chat shrugged. “At least we don’t have an Akuma to worry about.”

Ladybug smiled at his reasoning until she looked to one side and saw a tall broad man in deep purple with electrically-charged batons. “You sure about that?”

Chat quickly looked and was almost terrified when he recognized the man. “Warden Bolton?”

“Lyle Bolton isn’t available right now.” His voice sounded sinister and darker than usual. “The name’s Madman, and welcome to my madhouse.”

“If it’s all the same to you, we’ll just let ourselves out.” Ladybug shrugged as she quickly stood ready.

“And we’ll be taking these with us!” Chat quickly flipped over the Akumatized warden and grabbed his staff before using it to slide Ladybug her yo-yo like a hockey puck, which she quickly grabbed up and spun into this Akuma’s face, knocking him off-balance. Once she had done that, Chat quickly swept his staff under Madman’s legs, knocking him onto his back. “Learned that one in kindergarten.”

“We’d better be quick. Heaven knows how much Batman and the others need their gear.” Ladybug rationalized. Chat nodded in agreement and grabbed the Bat-team’s utility belts, prompting them both to start moving toward the exit before they remembered the army of goons outside.

“Any ideas?” Chat asked, watching the mob.

Ladybug looked around the office for an exit and found on just behind Madman as he was getting up. “Air-vent!”

“Good enough for me.” Chat shrugged and the two quickly jumped over the Akuma and dove into the vents, quickly avoiding Madman’s grasp. “Au revoir, mon ami!” With that, the two quickly started climbing the vents… which were a very tight fit.

“Ow! You’re crushing my arm, Chat!” Ladybug pointed out.

“Well, maybe if you kept those things to yourself better… _and considered working out_ … it wouldn’t be so squished in here!” Chat’s retort was swiftly met by a strong smack across his face from his offended red partner. “Ow! Okay, okay. I’ll move up a little.”

“Ugh. Why are you going first?” Ladybug asked angrily.

“Uh, night vision and enhanced hearing? Duh?” Chat retorted.

“Look, just be quiet and think.” Ladybug rolled her eyes. “How could Hawk Moth have sent an Akuma all the way here from Paris?”

“Well, they _are_ magic.” Chat shrugged as best he could in the tight space. “Not to mention that butterflies are pretty hardy insects anyway. He must’ve sent it ahead last night.”

“Guess that makes sense.” Ladybug shrugged in return. Then they heard what sounded like a loud bashing coming from the entrance to the vents. “We’ll discuss this later. Right now, Batman and the others need backup. You run outside to the others and give them their belts back, I’ll run back to Batman and Nightwing to arm _them_.”

“Sounds good to me.” Chat nodded, passing her the belts he had seen Batman and Nightwing remove. Quickly, they pointed themselves down separate vents and pushed each other by the feet to go flying down them.

Outside, Red Robin and the others were doing their best to fight off the goons outside and reach a high cliff off at one side of the island, but it wasn’t going well.

“Would this be good grounds to blame Bolton, BB?” asked Batwoman.

“Absolutely.” Black Bat replied, punching one of the goons away. Then Bluebird noticed something in these goons.

“Uh guys, is it just me or do these guys seem kinda… out of it?” she asked, spin-kicking one away into the rest of the mob.

“Y’know, I’m glad you brought it up, Blue.” Lark nodded. “I mean look at this; Cosa Nostra suits and Black Lights working together? These guys have been on the edge of a gang-war for months.” Then he quickly punched one of said Black Light thugs into a tree. A tree which Spoiler saw roots shooting through the ground from. Everyone else saw this as well, thankfully, and skillfully dodged when it came shooting out of the ground.

Everyone recognized these powers from a certain long-time enemy. One whom Red Robin saw sauntering up through her gang of hypnotized playthings. “Been a long time, Pam. Weren’t you on parole?”

Poison Ivy simply smirked at the young hero. “Well, I guess you could say it couldn’t take. Humanity is simply too… cruel to be allowed to live for all they’ve done to the Green.”

“So we’ve heard from you several times over as of now.” The current Robin scowled. “And yet here you stand again, ready to go back into prison.”

Ivy simply gave a pretentious laugh. “Not likely, little birdy.” She snapped her fingers, drawing the attention of all her zombified goons. “Kill them.” Just before they could follow this order, a large pole shot down and hit Ivy in the head. “OW!” Then it shot into the ground near the rest of the Bat-team allowing Chat to slide down it, belts slung over his shoulders.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I believe you’ll find these compliment your outfits much better.” He smirked.

“Nice timing, Kitty.” Huntress smiled as she quickly grabbed her belt off the young hero and snapped it on. “I was starting to feel naked. And not in a fun ‘night with Red Hood’ kinda way.”

“Ugh. TMI Huntress. Seriously.” Red Robin groaned as he and the others snapped their belts on as well. “Now then… for my first trick…” He produced a small mist sprayer filled with a strange green solution and sprayed it on the goons now approaching, snapping them out of their trance and dropping them to the ground unconscious.

“So, anyone care to introduce us?” Chat smirked, pointing to Ivy.

“Chat, this is Poison Ivy. Pam, this is Chat Noir from Paris.” Batgirl smiled. Then she pulled out a bat-based slingshot and fired a strange pellet at her, dowsing the criminal in knock-out gas.

“Nice try, Batgirl. Toxin immunity, remember?” Ivy smiled.

“Oh just shut up, will you?” a voice growled from the mob of unconscious goons. Everyone looked and suddenly saw a young man in what looked like a Black Light outfit with a black bandana over his mouth, red baseball cap, and black aerial sunglasses… not to mention the large pistol now in his hand. One pull of the trigger and Ivy was instantly on the ground, gripping her leg in pain. Then this strange man walked over to her and punched her square in the face, knocking her out.

“Whoa! Ca c'était quoi?!” asked Chat, slipping back into French.

“Oh relax, ya big baby.” The man replied, pulling out the clip of his gun. “See? Rubber bullets. She’ll be fine once she wakes up.”

“Yeah, assuming she’s not concussed.” Nightwing nodded. “But- Wait, how’d you manage to avoid her toxin infecting you?”

“Same way the boss does half the time.” The man reached under his bandana and pulled out a small gasmask which the others clearly recognized.

“Jason?” Huntress’s question was answered as the young man removed his superfluous clothes and revealed his scarred, smirking face.

“Hey, Helena.”

“Aw Babe!” Huntress laughed as she tossed herself into Jason’s arms, making him laugh.

“Uh…” Chat essentially asked.

“Long story.” Red Robin shrugged. “Short version; this is Jason Todd aka the Red Hood. An old friend.”

“Old enough to want to help, maybe?” asked Chat.

“Might as well.” Jason nodded. “Batman asked me to infiltrate the Black Light Tribe anyway; heard there might have been a gang-war brewing. Turns out it was just this.” With that, he simply removed his disguise to reveal a suit of body armor. Then he pulled out a red domino mask which he quickly stuck onto his face before he pulled out a large red helmet and locked that onto his head. Then he drew another pistol as Huntress drew her crossbow. “Let’s go to work.”

Back inside, Batman and Nightwing were starting to get tired from having to fight all their worst enemies, currently evading Clayface’s blasts of shape-shifting mud-flesh.

“Felling a little constricted without my taser-sticks here, boss.” Nightwing panted.

“Just keep it together,” Batman ordered, suddenly finding a sharpened stone flying straight between the ears of his cowl.

“Yes Nightwing, please do keep it together.” Batman knew that voice anywhere; the Joker. And there he was walking toward the Dark Knight with another stone in his hand. “After all… we’re here to take you apart.”

“Not tonight, clown!” A bright red yo-yo suddenly shot in and whacked the clown’s hand away as Ladybug suddenly swung in with the heroes’ belts in her other hand. “Lose something, gentlemen?”

“Nice entrance, Ladybug,” Nightwing smirked as he locked on his belt and pulled two eskrima-sticks off of it, crackling with electricity. “Now it’s time to have some fun.”

“No time, Nightwing. Right now, we just need to worry about containment.” Batman quickly pulled out a smoke bomb and tossed it to the ground, masking the group’s escape up into the rafters and onto the roof.

“What’re we doing? We can’t allow these guys to get out.” Ladybug asked in confusion.

“And we’re not,” Batman explained as they ran along the roof. “First we have to secure the asylum and figure out who opened all the cells.”

“I think I might have an idea on that front actually.” Ladybug shrugged. “Warden Bolton’s been akumatized somehow.”

“Oh great.” Nightwing rolled his eyes. “Well, at least we know the answer to that question.”

“Actually this could be perfect.” Batman realized. “I’ve seen the after-effect of your secondary power. If you can purify him and use it, it might return the inmates to their cells.”

“Well, that may be a bit easier said than done.” Ladybug shrugged. “I don’t know where the Akuma is, and even if I did, he’s too heavily armed for me to get him.”

“Don’t tell me; armor, shock-baton, face-mask?” asked Nightwing.

“Yeah, how’d ya know?” asked Ladybug.

“It’s the suit he wears to scare the prisoners; calls himself Lock-Up,” Nightwing recalled. “And if I were a gambling man, I’d say the Akuma is in his shock-baton.”

“Good theory.” Batman nodded. “We’ll have to deal with him.”

“Leave him to me and Chat. I’ll explain when I meet him.” Ladybug swung her yo-yo to a higher tower.

“We’re still going to need backup for containment.” Nightwing activated his com-unit. “Nightwing to Cyborg. We’ve got a massive break-out at Arkham and we need all the help we can get to make sure the inmates don’t make it out into Gotham.”

“ _Roger that,_ ” Cyborg replied. “ _Zeta tubes on the Watchtower are buggin’ out right now, and I’m doin’ my best to fix it but it’s slow-goin’, even with my powers. I’ll send word to Mount Justice and get the Team to ya as soon as I can._ ”

“Thanks, Vic. Nightwing out.” Unfortunately, as soon as he turned off his coms, he remembered something. “Oh, crap.”

“What?” asked Batman.

“Willis.” Batman himself facepalmed at this realization.

“Wait, who?” asked Ladybug.

“Leslie Willis; electrokinetic metahuman inmate here. Calls herself Livewire, and she can literally transform herself into electricity and travel along powerlines.”

“So for all we know, she’s already accessed the power-grid through Arkham’s mainframe and on her way to Coast City or Mexico.”

“Well, with luck, she’ll be back where she belongs once Chat and I deal with the warden.” Ladybug smiled.

“Good thing you ladybugs are lucky.” Ladybug smiled at Nightwing’s compliment and swung away, ready to save the city.


	13. Young Justice

Quickly, Ladybug managed to swing back to the front door of the asylum to group up with the others and see that containment had indeed failed and several supervillains had made it to the doors, led out the door by the famous gang-leader Roman Sionis aka Black Mask.

“Alright people, you know the drill; destroy anything that gets in your way.” He pulled out a large shotgun and racked it. “Gotham City is officially under siege!”

“I do not follow you, Sionis.” Mr. Freeze walked to the front, fully armored and armed with his famed cryo-cannon. “I do not follow _any_ human. Besides, my wife still requires treatment.”

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot you were married. Her name’s Nora, right?” That certainly drew the scientist’s attention. And not in a good way. “Pretty name.”

“What have you done with her, du Schwein?” Freeze raised his gun at the crime-leader, who raised a single hand in response.

“Temper-temper, Doctor. I thought you were dead to emotions.” Chat’s ear twitched as he could almost _hear_ the crime-lord smirking under his skull-mask. “My boys found her in the basement with you. Figured a girl with her sort of record shouldn’t have to be locked in a place like this, so I’m havin’ her moved to the mill. You’re more than welcome there to continue your research… _if_ you side with me.”

“What happened to Mr. Freeze’s wife?” Chat whispered to Red Robin, drawing Ladybug’s attention too.

“Bout two months before Victor first put on that suit, Nora was diagnosed with MacGregor’s Syndrome: a genetic disorder; creates fluid build-up in the lungs, leading to oxygen deprivation and multi-system organ failure. Rare but terminal.” This explanation naturally stunned the young heroes. “Victor joined GothCorp to cryogenically preserve her and find a cure. He managed to further research into MacGregor’s by at least a few decades when the accident happened; as far as I remember, there was a fight in Vic’s lab, some idiot guard shot the coolant tanks and the stress of keeping his wife alive by literally shielding the puncture with his own body activated his metagene; made it so that outside a sub-zero environment, he’s dead. After he built that suit, he came back to wage a one-man war on Gotham for funding his research to save his wife.”

“Mon Dieu.” Ladybug was understandably in awe at this explanation, but then interested when she saw Huntress making the sign of the cross, muttering the usual chant in Latin.

She noticed and quickly explained. “I’m a devout Catholic.”

“Well, I guess I can understand his motives, but why would he want to leave?” Chat quickly returned to the point.

“You heard Roman; his guys have her heading for the steel mill, he’s got Victor on a leash.” Spoiler scowled.

“Then I say we cut him loose from it.” Chat extended his staff and readied it to strike.

Ladybug quickly grabbed her partner’s arm, holding him back. “Not us, Chaton. We have to take down Madman. We do, this entire ordeal should be fixed.”

“What? What’re you talking about?” asked Batwoman.

Chat nodded. “Bolton got Akumatized somehow. If we can revert him, everyone should be sent back to their cells when Ladybug purifies the Akuma.”

“Well, I’ll try anything once.” Red Hood shrugged, cocking his guns.

“Ladies, you save Nora. We’ll see if we can keep these guys on the island.” Red Robin ordered.

Suddenly, a loud whoosh sounded and three people appeared; Wonder Girl, Impulse and the dark-garbed Superboy. “Might need some backup with that, RR.”

“Nice timing, Supey,” Lark smirked, drawing his small sickles. “Let’s do this.”

“Hey Wonder Girl, a ride to Security s’il vous plais?” Chat smirked.

“You got it, Kitty-cat.” Her lasso dangled a few feet off the ground, dull without electricity. The two Parisians jumped up and grabbed onto the noose as the young demigoddess flew the two straight into the security room to find that Madman had managed to take down all the street-crooks that managed to break into the office. “Whoa, mama! How’s this possible?”

“Hard to say.” Ladybug shrugged honestly. “We’ve never heard about an Akuma making it this far from Paris. Rouen, I would’ve expected. Marseilles, even moreso, but all the way to Gotham?”

“Yeah, this is just weird.”

“Well, of course, it’s weird.” Madman smiled crazily. “You’re in the Madhouse!”

“Well monsieur, I’m afraid this place has been named a public safety hazard.” Chat smirked, spinning his staff. “We’re gonna have to shut you down.”

“Just try it!” Without any more warning, the maddened warden tossed his baton, which was apparently attached to a chain, at the heroes which prompted them to quickly dodge as it quickly left a sizable dent in one of the steel support columns, which even scared Wonder Girl as it flew back to Madman’s hand.

“Okay, that’s new.” was all she could say… before swiftly drawing her sword and looking at Ladybug. “Permission to draw attention?”

“Permission granted.”

That was all the Amazon had to hear as she quickly charged into battle in the blink of an eye, sword swinging down toward him. “For Honor!” Madman quickly moved to block this blade with his baton… and succeeded, which greatly surprised Wonder Girl as she was thrown through the bulletproof glass of the office. “I don’t understand. Hephaestus said this thing can cut the electrons off an atom. So what the hell?”

“Could have something to do with the Akuma’s magic.” Chat scowled as he and Ladybug jumped around the warden. “Still, shouldn’t stand up too well against me. Cataclysm!” His glove started sparking and with one strong leap, he shot himself straight toward Madman’s baton… but he quickly parried and threw the young hero to the ground, unfortunately causing his power to impact on the large metal floor panel, causing it to quickly start rusting away under everyone’s feet… and groan with their weight. “Uh-oh. That’s not good.”

Obviously not as he barely had time to say that before the floor gave way and everyone almost fell through the large hole into the basement. Quickly they all dodged the panel to the walls, making sure they didn’t fall in. Wonder Girl was the first to look down the hole… and quickly realize the gravity of the situation they were in. “Oh crap. We need to go. Now.”

“What? Why?” asked Ladybug.

“That’s Solomon Grundy’s cell. He’s one of the toughest sons a’bitches anyone in the League has ever fought.”

“Wait yeah, I heard about this guy once. Isn’t he a zombie?” That note from Chat quickly gave Ladybug a _very_ good reason to back as far away from the hole as she could.

“Yeah, but not like zombie apocalypse movie-kinda zombie. Otherwise, the world would’ve fallen to him years ago.” Wonder Girl rolled her eyes as she said this. “He’s just some husk from Slaughter Swamp revived by magic; it’s- it’s complicated. Just take down the warden.”

“With pleasure. Lucky Charm!” Once the sparkles faded, Ladybug was rather confused by what fell into her hands. Moreso than usual. “Rubber gloves?”

“Well, at least that’ll sorta help?” Wonder Girl was right to question it; even without the electricity, they still had to worry about Madman’s super-strength.

Ladybug glanced around to try and figure out what she might be able to use here, her Lucky Sight quickly highlighting Wonder Girl, her sword and lasso, the gloves, and Madman’s baton. Once she had everything she needed, she was happy to hear Nightwing’s voice on the coms. “ _Nightwing to all units: Nora Fries is in our hands. Vic’s on our side now. All prisoners are in a partial deep-freeze until we’re done here._ ”

“Perfect timing.” Ladybug smiled. “We nearly _are_.” With that, she let out a loud whistle to draw Madman’s attention. “Hey Warden, over here! Come and get me!”

“Are you out of your mind?!” Wonder Girl asked. “Batman has this whole huge thing about not antagonizing the bad guys!”

“I’m not Batman.” Ladybug smirked, jumping over the Akumatized warden.

“Yeah, I’m getting that.”

“Just tie him up!” The young demigoddess didn’t have much choice so as soon as Madman sent his baton flying which Ladybug quickly caught in one of the gloves, she quickly tossed her lasso around the criminal, binding his arms and knocking him to the ground before giving him a strong electric shock, making him cry in pain as his chain-baton fell to the ground. “Sword!” This command was quickly followed as well as Wonder Girl kicked her blade out of its scabbard and kicked it straight into Ladybug’s hand. Then something weird happened; once the weapon touched her gloved hand, red spots appeared on the blade. Naturally, everyone was confused but Ladybug quickly brought the sword down on the chain, this time slashing straight through and causing the Akuma to fly out.

“No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma.” Once the yo-yo split, Wonder Girl let Madman go as Ladybug spun it. “Time to de-evilize!” With a quick snatch, the Akuma was caught and the yo-yo shot straight back to her hand. “Gotcha!” A simple click and the now-purified insect fluttered out, flying toward the air-vents to escape. “Bye-bye, little butterfly.” Once it was gone, Ladybug tossed up the other glove. “Miraculous Ladybug!” In a large blast, all the damage done to the asylum quickly disappeared; the floor in all wings was fixed, all the prisoners were back in their cells with their restraint collars back on, and even Bolton was reverted to normal.

“Wha- What’s goin’ on?” If Marinette had a euro for every time she heard something like that on this job, she could start her own fashion company right now.

But for now, she’d settle for being a hero. “Pound it!”

Wonder Girl smirked as she walked over. “Nice plan, Ladybug. Are you always this creative?”

“No. Sometimes she comes up with _really_ crazy stuff.” Chat smirked right back as he looped an arm around his lady’s neck. Then he noticed his ring was on its last pad again. “Oop. Uh, ‘Scuse me; gotta run.” With that, he quickly raced out of the asylum to far beyond the main complex to transform and recharge.

While he was doing that, Ladybug and Wonder Girl had just arrived outside with Bolton to find the others all looking at him disapprovingly. “What? Seriously what happened?”

“Let’s just say that right about now is where I blame you.” Black Bat said bluntly before she walked away to her bike. “I’ll see you guys back at the cave.” With that, she simply throttled up and drove off Arkham Island.

“Your base is in a cave?” Ladybug asked, smirking. “Really playing up the whole bat motif, aren’t you?”

“Believe me, we all said the same thing when the big guy first brought each of us down there.” Nightwing nodded.

“What did she mean?” asked Bolton.

“Watch the security tapes. You’ll find out.” Batman said simply before walking back to his large streamlined Batmobile. “You guys coming?”

“Yeah, we’re right behind you.” Red Robin nodded, turning back to Ladybug and Chat who had just returned. “We have Zeta Tubes in the Batcave if you wanna use ‘em.”

“Merci. But first, I need to recharge…” Ladybug noted, looking at her third spot disappearing from her earring. “And then, Chat and I have to see a man about a woman.”

Red knew exactly who they were talking about and turned to Bolton. “You mind if they have a little discussion with the good Doktor, Warden?”

“For helping prevent a prison break? They have free rein of the facility.” Bolton nodded.

“In that case, can I use your janitor’s closet first? Gotta recharge.” Ladybug reminded.

Bolton smiled; a rare occasion given the expression on Lark’s face. “It’s in the main hall, third door to the left of the security office.”

“Thanks.” With that, she quickly ran in with Chat hot on her heels. He had his own set of questions for this doctor, and he wasn’t leaving until he had some sort of idea what the answer might be.


	14. The Doctor will see you now...

Somehow even before the Miraculous heroes reached Mr. Freeze’s cell, the basement of Arkham felt colder than the rest of the prison, even with their ice suits. Of course, it wasn’t just the temperature that made things cold, it was also the mean glares they received from the other high-security prisoners as they met a red-headed man in a lab coat and a security officer outside the cell… which basically looked like the security officers put a way more heavy-duty lock on a walk-in freezer. “I take it you’re the doctor’s visitors?”

“Oui monsieur.” Chat nodded.

“I’m Dr. Roy Westerman, the intake interviewer here at the asylum. This is Officer Phil Cho. Director Arkham wanted us present to make sure Dr. Fries didn’t try anything.” the doctor explained.

“Don’t worry Doctor, Red Robin showed us the file on him. I don’t think he’s going to try anything.” Chat reassured.

“I appreciate your assurances kid, but after this prison break, Warden Bolton isn’t leaving anything to chance,” Cho argued.

Chat glanced at Ladybug, who simply shrugged before looking at the guard. “Fine by me. Just uh… don’t interrupt.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Dr. Westerman waved in reassurance. “But uh… are you sure you guys can handle it? The temperature in there is 50-below.”

“Well, we… haven’t checked at _that_ temperature, but one of Hawk Moth’s supervillains did put Paris in a deep-freeze, so we think we can handle it.”

“Good luck.” Westerman nodded. With that, he simply pressed an intercom button on the wall to speak to the person inside the cell. “Dr. Fries, this is Dr. Westerman. Excuse the interruption, but there are some people out here who would like to speak with you for a moment.”

It took a second but his voice came in over the intercom. “ _Show them in._ ”

“Thank you, doctor.” Dr. Westerman turned to the two heroes as Cho punched a security code into the keypad at the side of the door.

“What kinda prison cell has an intercom?” Chat asked reasonably.

“This isn’t actually an official cell,” Cho noted, pointing down the hall to his left. “Freeze’s cell is down that way. We’re having the cooling system in there fixed so for the time being, Director Arkham has deemed it safe for him to spend the duration of the repairs in here…” Once the code was punched, the locks unsealed and a cold draft drifted from the cracks in the door. “With his wife.”

“His wife?” asked Ladybug.

“Yes, so be careful what you say. He can be rather sensitive about her _and_ his research.” Westerman warned.

“Would ya go in there already? I’m gettin’ cold over here!” a complaint came from one of the nearby cells.

“Alright-alright, keep yer orange on Hagen!” Cho rolled his eyes as he opened the door, allowing a mass of cold mist to drift out. Without any more time to waste, the two heroes entered the chamber with the door sealed behind them to find Victor working with chemicals in a heated box on a table. A quick glance to one side revealed a large cryogenic tank, still whirring.

“Good afternoon you two.” the scientist said, not looking up from his work. “To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from the heroes of Paris?”

“We just wanted to ask you a few questions.” Chat explained, walking over to the glass at the top of the pod, covered with frost. “May I?”

Victor looked up to see the young hero pointing at the glass as if asking if he could wipe off the frost. “Certainly. Just don’t damage it; you may break the seal.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Chat nodded. Then with a simple wipe across the glass with his hand, the frost was cleared and he saw a young blonde woman wearing white, floating in some sort of cryogenic fluid. He wouldn’t admit it outright, but something about her reminded him of his mother… which in-turn reminded him of his questions. “Your wife is quite lovely, monsieur.”

This naturally prompted Ladybug to look for herself, and for Victor to glance at the young man before returning to work. “Thank you. But I’m sure you didn’t just come to visit me to compliment a woman who cannot even hear you.”

“You’re right. We didn’t.” Ladybug was so glad her suit protected her so thoroughly as she leaned against the wall of the cell. “Why turn to crime? There are easier ways to fund this research.”

“I can assure you Ladybug, I did not want to have to do this,” Victor said, looking through the microscope in the heated box. “I just… I thought it was the only way. After that _imbecile_ Ferris Boyle disrupted the process, I… Hmph. Well, I believe Dr. Westerman put it best when he diagnosed me as misanthropic.” He gave a small smirk at the confused look on the young heroes’ expressions and pressed the button on the intercom. “Doctor, since I’m sure you’re listening in, perhaps you’d care to explain?”

“ _If you insist, Dr. Fries,_ ” Roy said from outside. “ _Misanthropy is the general hatred, distrust or otherwise contempt in… well, humanity._ ”

“Ah. Okay, I guess I understand that.” Ladybug nodded. “But still, even with that, you could’ve gone to any other billionaire philanthropist on earth. They’re not all like Boyle; I’ve met with some of them.”

Victor gave a small smile. “I know. After all, this grant I’ve been given to complete my research? Courtesy of Wayne Enterprises.”

Chat tried his best not to choke on that statement, but he quickly got to the point of why _he_ was there. “About that research… any, um… any progress?”

Ladybug and Victor were both surprised by this, but Victor decided to get up and look in on Nora as he answered anyway. “Some. I’m still working on a cure for Stage 2, but I have a strong feeling that I’ll be finished sometime in the next few years. Why?”

“Well, it’s just that, um… I’ve been working on a disappearance case from a few years ago for a while now, and I was wondering if you could help me with it.”

This confused Ladybug even more. “Wait, you’ve been working a case? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“This is a uh… contract job. Of a personal nature.” Chat emphasized with a quick wink, causing Ladybug to quickly understand and stand back.

“I see. So why do you need my help?” asked Victor.

“Well based on everything I’ve learned so far, it may be a distinct possibility that she might have had MacGregor’s when she disappeared.” Chat explained.

“Ah, I understand now. So you came to see the head of research on the syndrome to confirm your findings.” Victor nodded. “Very well. Who’s the patient?”

Chat took a breath to steel his nerves and then, with almost pathological confidence, said “Emilie Agreste.” As soon as he said that, Ladybug understood; he wanted to find out more about what happened to his mother.

Victor nodded, smiling. “The actress.”

“You know her?” asked Ladybug.

“Of course. _Solitude_ was one of Nora’s favorites.” Victor nodded. “But I heard that you two came onto the scene roughly six years after she disappeared. How did you find this… case?”

“Well like I said, this is a contract job. I got it from her son, Adrien. He gave me the details.”

“Ah, I see. Well, if you’ll give them to me I can make a prognosis.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” Chat quickly thought back to everything Natalie had told him about his mother before she disappeared. “Okay let’s see, um… she’d been having trouble breathing, stomach pain, a few bouts of vertigo, some vision problems. Sound accurate?”

Victor raised his eyebrow. “All except the vertigo and vision. Other than that, it sounds like a standard case of Stage 1.”

“Wait, that- that doesn’t make sense.” Ladybug said contemplatively. “If she doesn’t have MacGregor’s, then what is it?”

“I don’t know. All my research hasn’t led me to believe the disease has mutated those symptoms.” Naturally, this prompted Victor to look back at his notes to confirm and he was still right. “Hm. Must be something else. Though I must admit, I do remember the circumstances around her disappearance being a bit inconclusive; there one day, gone the next.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Chat shrugged, placing his hands on his hips. “Still doesn’t make sense though.”

“I’m sorry. That’s the best I can do for you.” Victor shrugged. “Let me know if you hear anything.”

“Thank you, doctor.” Ladybug nodded and pressed the button on the intercom. “We’re done, Dr. Westerman.”

“Understood.” Roy nodded, nodding to Cho. “Alright Phil, open it up.” Phil nodded and unlocked the door, allowing the young heroes to exit to the others. “Did you get everything you needed?”

“We got all we could, I guess.” Chat shrugged. “Thanks again for letting us visit, doctor.”

“Don’t mention it.” Roy nodded and escorted them back upstairs and out the main doors. The rain had lessened but it was still coming down, though now as a sort of fine mist.

“Are you okay Chat?” Ladybug’s question dragged the young man from his contemplative walk down the road, at which point they both deactivated their ice suits.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” he nodded. “Nice to know my mom didn’t have MacGregor’s when she vanished.”

Ladybug was still worried and placed her hand on his shoulder. “We’ll find her, Chaton.”

Chat smiled and nodded. “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference, Dr. Westerman and Officer Cho are both in-universe interpretations of the creators of the Earth-27 universe; Roy Westerman (writer) and Phil Cho (artist).


	15. The Bat's Nest

It was honestly rather surprising that the Loeb Bridge off Arkham Island led to Gotham City’s fashion district. Though Marinette was honestly very excited to look around and see what Gotham had to offer, Adrien brought up the very wise argument that they should probably postpone that and buy some clothes to hide their faces, just to be safe.

Naturally, that logic was hard to argue with, so they quickly slipped into the nearest clothing store that seemed to sell inconspicuous-seeming garb. Thankfully, they figured they didn’t need much as they wouldn’t be _too_ easily recognized in an American city… until they saw several posters from Gabriel brand around the shop with Adrien on them, including one from the fashion show where the Style Queen fiasco happened with a picture of Marinette connected to the hat Adrien was wearing.

“Oh. Parfait.” Adrien groaned. “Even when we’re on opposite sides of the world, my father still manages to find ways to mess with my life.”

“Chyeah, tell me about it.” The two were surprised to hear this until they looked off in one direction to see an oddly chipper-looking young blonde woman off near the women’s jeans on the right. “Just be thankful _your_ dad isn’t a supervillain obsessed with proving his intellect.”

“Oddly specific.” Adrien shrugged. “Who’re you?” Naturally, the last thing he and Marinette were expecting was for this woman to suddenly glomp them both.

“I’m Stephanie Brown; so nice to meet you guys!” she smiled, backing away. “Tim told me so much about you guys so far.”

“I- Wait, you mean Tim _Drake_?” asked Marinette.

“Pfft, well yeah how many other Tims are there in Gotham who dress up in red and black and punch street-crooks dressed like clowns?” This bluntness amazed the two French heroes before Stephanie spun around and looped arms around their necks, quieting her voice. “Relax; I know all about Bruce Wayne’s little club. After all, I’m in on it.”

“Wait, seriously?”

“Yeah. That girl in the purple hood you guys saw at the asylum? That was me.” Stephanie smiled. “Bruce asked me and Tim to head over and pick you guys up. He’s waiting outside in the car.” The heroes shrugged as they moved to the door.

Though Adrien was naturally confused by Stephanie not following them. “Aren’t you coming?”

“I’ll just be a second. Picking you up was just _one_ reason Tim and I are out here. Reason 2 was so I could get some new clothes.”

Neither of them could argue with that reason, so they left for the car to indeed find Tim behind the wheel of a bright red Dodge Challenger. “Hey, guys. Beauty, ain’t she?”

“Got that right. Yours?”

Tim smirked back at Adrien in response. “All 700 horses. Plus nitro and bullet-proofing.”

“Bullet-proofing?” Marinette was scared about what that implied as she and Adrien climbed into the back seat.

“Hey, with nineteen street-crime gangs in town, there’s always gonna be some jerk from any of ‘em wanting to try and bust a few caps into some unlucky sap’s car.” Tim shrugged. “Hell, it’s such a big problem these days that Wayne Enterprises’ insurance division is sellin’ people _bullet-hole_ car insurance. Sheesh.” A simple glance out the window suddenly scared Tim as a car pulled up and an Italian assault rifle popped out of the open window. “Ah, crap.” Quickly, he pressed a few buttons on his dashboard.

“What? Who are these guys?” Adrien’s question was quickly answered by the rifle opening fire and lining Tim’s car with lead, every shot of which bounced off.

“Well, unless this is a frame-job by one of the other gangs, I’d say these guys are hitmen for La Cosa Nostra; an Italian crime family that took over all of Helena’s family’s businesses.” Tim guessed. “They’re probably still holding a grudge against me for blowing the whistle on my dad’s working for Bertinelli.”

“Helena was a mobster?!” Marinette asked.

“Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah, her _parents_ were mobsters. And they paid the price in blood when they muscled in on Black Mask’s territory.” Tim explained. “Anywho, might as well show these guys who they’re dealin’ with.” He flipped one switch and the plates flipped away and his emblem appeared on both doors and the hood, instantly prompting the shooting to stop. “Welcome aboard the Redbird, kiddies. Now get my mask out of the glove box and duck; Bruce paid for full-tint on my windows for a reason but I _really_ wanna intimidate these guys and I don’t want them to see you with me.”

Adrien passed the mask over to him before he and Marinette ducked, allowing Tim to swiftly slip on the mask, pull on a glove, grab a birdarang from the glove box and roll the window down a crack so he could glare at the enemy car, birdarang ready just in case as he turned on a voice modulator. “ _Scram._ ” The driver obviously listened as the car swiftly drove away. They didn’t get far though as just when Tim switched the car back and hid his stuff in the glove-box again, a police car had already careened down the street after them. “Ha-ha! Ahh, I love this job.”

And it was at that very moment that Stephanie came out with a bag and jumped in the car. “Hey, baby. Adrien, you mind holdin’ this?” She passed her bag back to Adrien in the back before she gave Tim a little peck on the cheek.

“Alright, let’s roll.” He revved the engine and sent it rumbling through town toward a large estate on the mainland of the city. Suddenly something occurred to him. “Oh before I forget…” He quickly pulled out a CB communicator and tuned it to a specific channel. “Oracle, this is Red Robin. I turned off a few surveillance cameras in the fashion district. Mind turning them back on before someone at the GCPD notices?”

“ _Yeah, I’m on it,_ ” Tim smirked as he tossed the transmitter back on the dash just as the car rumbled up to the gates of the estate which opened just in time to allow Tim to drive straight in and up to the motor court and straight through to the garage on the other end where they all disembarked.

“Welcome to Wayne Manor, kids.” Tim smiled. Once they made it over to the door, the aged housekeeper of Wayne Manor swiftly opened it. “Nice timing on the gates Alfred. Nice to see that camera’s paying off.”

“Indeed, Master Tim. Ah, I see Master Bruce’s guests have arrived.”

“Sure have.” Stephanie smiled. “Guys, this is the Wayne Estate’s butler Alfred Pennyworth.”

“At your service, heroes of Paris.” Alfred bowed, leading them inside. “Ms. Gordon arrived just a few minutes before you with Ms. Bertinelli. They’re waiting for us in the Batcave with Master Bruce and the others. I’m sure Bruce will be happy to have you all here.” With that, he simply led the group down to the basement to a billiard hall where they saw Jason. “Master Jason, I thought you would be in the cave with the others.”

“Yeah I was, but I just wanted to get a little more practice with my technique. Plus Dick bet me I couldn’t sink half of ‘em with one shot.”

“Ah, I see.” Alfred just slipped behind him and flipped a switch behind a grandfather clock and revealed a large elevator which quickly carried the group down to a large vaulted cave with some strange-looking tech and trophy-like constructs around the area.

“Whoa.”

Tim smiled at Marinette, remembering _his_ first time in the cave. “Yeah, Bruce spared no expense with this place.”

“That much I can agree with.” Bruce nodded, walking past Dick and Cass Cain’s sparring session to join them. “Cass, you’re still dropping your shoulder.”

“I know,” Cass growled as she intercepted another straight from Dick and countered with a heel kick to the stomach.

“Ooh, careful there Cassie. I still want him intact for our date next week.” A redhead in a wheelchair surprised the two younger heroes, and they clearly surprised her as well. “Oh, I didn’t know we were expecting other company.”

“Indeed. Ms. Barbara Gordon, may I introduce M. Adrien Agreste and Mlle. Marinette Dupain-Cheng of Paris.” This introduction from Alfred made the two young heroes feel quite important like they actually were finally stepping up to the big leagues…

But then Barbara’s laughing confused them. “Oh- Oh this is too good.”

“What’s too good?” Marinette knew she would regret asking that, but she figured she might as well. Though it was quickly replaced with regret again when Alfred boarded the elevator again and took it back upstairs.

“Oh lemme show you,” Barbara smirked as she rolled over to the main computer. “Everybody on me for some quick laughs!”

Tim liked the sound of that and got on the intercom to the billiard room. “Hey, Jay-bird. Get down to the computer like right now dude.”

“ _Drake, you know I hate it when you call me that._ ” Jason groaned. “ _Alright, I’m on my way._ ” It took him a few seconds but he quickly made it to the cave with time to spare as Barbara finished typing. “Alright, so what’s going on?”

“Oh nothing much, just bringing up what might be the best thing in the history of voicemail. From Adrien’s phone before the whole Copycat schmeer.”

That instantly made Marinette’s face go pale; she remembered exactly what Barbara was talking about. But Adrien was just confused. “Wait, Copycat? That Akuma was two years ago. How did you access my phone’s voicemail from back then?”

“Well, we League-affiliated tech-heads, or ‘The Network’ as we call ourselves, had our suspicions about you two for a while before you exposed yourselves on the Watchtower, so when you first appeared, Felicity helped me set up a wireless intercept network to see if we could intercept any com-traffic that might give us a clue as to who you guys were,” Barbara explained as she brought up an audio-file. “Dr. Wells said we should especially focus on you two, and soooo… Beep-boop!” With that last sound and button-press, she started the audio-file.

“ _It’s gone to voicemail._ ” Marinette cringed as she remembered she had said that.

“ _Leave a message; don’t improv!_ ” She growled a bit at that statement from Alya.

Then she heard herself gulp before speaking. “ _Uhh hello, uh-ha, Adrien’s voicemail,_ ” Marinette could already hear a few of the guys snickering at this train-wreck while Adrien just listened on intrigued. Marinette just did her best to quietly slip away. “ _Uh, this is Marinette, who uh, has a message for you, of course cause it’s, uh, your phone, so um… Ah-heh-heh, callmeseeyoulater,bye!_ ” The guys’ laughter started to get louder as they heard her phone thud over to what sounded like the side of her room, followed by the rolling wheels of a swivel chair, presumably holding Marinette on it, whimpering a bit. “ _What? What did you expect me to say? ‘Hey hot stuff, this is Marinette, I’d ask you on a date to a movie, but I’ve got such a crazy crush on you that the only way I can talk to you without foaming at the mouth is over this stupid phone’. Pretty ridiculous, right?_ ” Clearly, Dick and the other guys thought so because they quickly started _howling_ with laughter, along with some of the girls. Adrien just blushed bright red.

“Oh- Oh my god! Oh- oh, I can’t breathe!” Dick was literally rolling on the floor at this point as Jason pounded on the side of the computer to try and control himself. And Tim… well, he almost fell off the elevated platform the computer was on a few times and just kept laughing for all he was worth.

“W-Wait a sec, this doesn’t make sense. I didn’t have any voicemails on my phone after- Oh.” It came to him in a flash when he realized that he had seen Marinette near his phone at the end of that day. Then he realized how embarrassing this must’ve been for her and looked at where she was standing… just a few seconds ago. Then he heard the elevator opening and saw her slip in. “M-Marinette, wait!” Clearly, this just made her more nervous as she quickly pushed the close-door button and was quickly carried back up to the mansion amidst the laughter. Adrien growled at the Bat-family for not controlling themselves better before noticing another elevator behind him.

Bruce noticed what was going on and quickly moved to calm everyone down. “Alright knock it off, all of you!”

Dick finally managed to get himself under control and stood up. “Ah cmon Bruce, even _you_ have to admit that was hilarious.” It wasn’t as intimidating as with his mask, but Bruce’s glares still sent chills down Dick’s spine and made him agree with what he was doing. “Uh a-alright, cmon guys, knock it off. Seriously, this isn’t exactly becoming of heroes.”

Adrien sighed in relief and flashed a thumbs-up at Bruce, which he smiled and returned. After that, the elevator finally made it and Adrien quickly shot back up into the mansion’s main floor to find his lady. And apologize for everything he'd ever done.


	16. Love Shines Through

It took some time for Adrien to find his lady but finally, he did… only to see her huddled on the sofa in the lounge, trying to hide her face.

Naturally, he decided to try and break the ice with a joke… “Heh. ‘Hot stuff’. Don’t think I’ve heard that one before.” …It went about as well as one could expect. Seriously, as soon as that joke left Adrien’s lips, Marinette just groaned louder. “Marinette?”

She just mumbled this bit, but Adrien could tell she said: “Go away.”

And yet he obviously didn’t and chuckled as he sat down and tried to put a hand on her shoulder. “Will you relax? I’ve gotten worse voicemails than that.”

Marinette just scoffed and recoiled from his hand. “Yeah. Sure.”

“I’m serious.” But then he thought back and came to a mental consensus on something. “Well, I mean- heh, kinda hard to beat getting called ‘hot stuff’ by that one shy girl from school, but cmon; you can’t tell me that’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done to try and ‘court favor’ with me.”

 _That_ obviously worked as Marinette turned beet-red. “D-Don’t say it like that!”

“I’m not hearing a denial~!” Okay, now Adrien was sort of scaring her as he climbed over to her part of the couch, almost pinning her under his arms.

“Wh- Adrien what- what’re- what’re you doing?!”

Clearly, Adrien was off in his own little world as he did this but quickly snapped back when they both heard someone clear their throat in the door. A mortified glance from both young heroes quickly revealed it was Alfred with an ornate tea-tray in hand. “While I am pleased to see you’re attempting to… resolve this, Master Adrien, I feel the need to tell you that Master Bruce would prefer you keep all… overly intimate affairs off the sofa.”

That blunt comment quickly made Adrien understand the gravity of the situation he was in and jump back on the couch, his face as red as Marinette’s suit. “Gah! Uh, I am _so_ , so sorry Marinette! I-I just thought that would help calm you down or something; I-” Suddenly something occurred to him and his blush disappeared… kinda. “Oh my god, this is how you felt whenever you tried talking to me before the Watchtower, isn’t it?”

Marinette’s eyes popped open upon hearing this in realization as well. “Oh my god, yeah.” She laughed a bit at that, which gave Adrien a chance to marvel at how goddamn cute she was. “Man, I was such a nervous wreck back then.”

This just made Adrien snicker. “What do you mean ‘back then’?”

Marinette just laughed again and playfully smacked him on the shoulder. “Shut up.”

“I take it things have been successfully handled now?” Alfred smirked.

Adrien wiped a tear away from his eye as he smiled at the Wayne family butler. “Yeah. Yeah, we’re good now. Thank you, Alfred.”

“Oh? For what?”

“That little ice-breaker a few seconds ago. I mean ‘overly intimate affairs’? Jeez, just because I _like_ Marinette doesn’t mean I wanna sleep with her or anything.” Adrien smiled. “I mean, not yet anyway.” That made another blush appear on Marinette’s cheeks, though significantly less extreme than before.

“Ah. I see. Well, in that case, think nothing of it.” Alfred nodded, walking over to the table. “Tea?”

“Please.” Marinette’s nod was all the affirmation Alfred needed before he set the tray down and gently pour two cups for the two younglings.

Adrien smiled as he slipped his hand on top of Marinette’s before she could reach her cup. “Allow me, my lady. It may not meet with your approval and I do not wish you to be poorly surprised.”

Marinette blushed a small bit as she recalled her hand. “Ever the gentleman, my little alley-cat.”

“I live to serve, mademoiselle.” Adrien smiled as he took his cup and gave it a small sample, pleasantly surprised by the floral, grapey taste to it. “Mm. Don’t tell me; Glenburn King?”

“Quite right, sir. You clearly know your teas.” Alfred was pleasantly surprised as well, judging from his tone of voice.

“What can I say? If there’s one upside to being a high-class tycoon’s heir, huh?” Adrien smiled before turning to Marinette. “Help yourself.”

The young blue-nette curtseyed as best she could while sitting down and helped herself, impressed by the flavor. “Wow. This is really nice. Thank you, Alfred.”

“Not at all, ma’am. Will that be all?”

“Yeah, thanks.” Adrien smiled.

“Of course sir.” With that, the aged Brit left the lounge, leaving the two young heroes alone with their tea…

And their thoughts, voiced and otherwise. “Did you mean it?”

That thought from Marinette rather confused her feline friend. “Mean what?”

“That you might want to…” She waved her hands around a bit so as to emphasize what she meant. “…with me sometime soon?”

Adrien chuckled a bit, perhaps sounding a bit dismissive, though he quickly corrected this belief by raising a hand to her cheek. “Mari, believe me; there is no one I would rather spend this life with than the bluebell-eyed beauty sitting right next to me. I love you, Marinette.”

Marinette smiled as a small tear rolled down her cheek and Adrien placed their cups back on the table before pulling his princess into a gentle, caring kiss. It broke after a second and they simply smiled in each other’s arms. “I love you too.” It seemed like the young heroes’ world was made of gold; like nothing could ever hurt them or their home.

They couldn’t be more wrong. But that was too far in the future to worry about now; they had to worry about what was more immediate. Like getting home before morning. “We’d better get going. School night in Paris.”

Marinette moaned as she snuggled up closer to her beloved. “Five more minutes.”

“Mari…”

She just rolled her eyes. “Oh alright. We’ll use the Tube in the cave.”

Adrien smiled a bit as he pulled himself up. “Thanks, sweetie.” It took some work, but the two finally made it down to the cave to find the others training all over again.

“Oh hey, sorry again about what happened earlier Marinette.” Tim nodded, looking up from his holo-computer. “Bruce can get us whipped back into form pretty easily when he wants to, and believe me, he wanted to.”

“Don’t worry; we believe you.” Marinette nodded. “Anyway, we just want to be transported back to Paris if that’s okay.”

“Sure. The tube’s over near the Bat-plane over there.”

“Bat-plane? Seriously? Why not Bat _wing_?” Adrien smirked.

“Name’s already taken by a partner. Got himself a pretty high-tech flight-suit courtesy of Wayne Enterprises’ tech division.” Tim nodded, connecting to the Tube’s systems and setting the coordinates to the Eiffel Tower, this time next to one of the supports on Avenue Gustave Eiffel. “Alright, all good. Go ahead.” He didn’t have to tell them twice as the Tube quickly spun to life. Marinette and Adrien had to transform for a few seconds as they jumped through and appeared among a strangely large group of tourists for so late at night. It was a simple rooftop run to Marinette’s house where the young heroes both transformed back on the roof for some moonlight.

“So uh…  listen, I was thinking these last few days… maybe we should get in some training out of uniform.” Adrien shrugged as Plagg flew into Marinette’s room looking for cheese.

“Wh- well how do you mean?”

“I mean, maybe we could work out in the mornings sometime these next few weeks.” Those images stuck in Marinette’s mind; working out. In the mornings. With _Adrien Agreste_. With him running. And sweating. And probably drinking energy drinks like he did in that one commercial last year with the perfect little beads of sweat rolling down his throat. “M-Mari? You there? Oh god, I didn’t break you, did I?”

“N-no, I-I’m fine!” Marinette quickly jumped in realization at her spacing out. “Uh y-yeah, that… that sounds good. I just- Wh-when do you wanna start?”

“Uh… how about Tuesday? As for exact time, uh lemme think… school starts at 8, so maybe 6:30? Gives us about an hour’s workout time and then a half-hour’s time to get ready for school. Sound good?”

Marinette smirked at this. “ _Sounds_ fine on paper, but I’m not exactly a morning person so don’t expect me to be up then.”

“Shouldn’t be much of a problem. After all, I know where you live.”

Marinette chuckled. “Easy there tiger.” Adrien just gave a smug snicker and playful growl to her ladyship as he pulled her up to him by the waist. It was no real issue for her as she got into it.

Unfortunately, neither of them saw Alya on the street below for a late-night stroll while talking on her phone. “Are you serious Nino? Still no sign of him? Ugh, alright I’m near Marinette’s; I’ll ask her if-” Then she glanced up just in time to see Marinette happily kiss Adrien on the balcony of her home. “Nino… I think I found ‘em both. Hang on a sec.” With that, she switched to her camera and quickly texted him a picture.

“ _Whaaaattt?_ ”

“I don’t know! I am getting to the bottom of this.” Alya then marched over to the old bakery’s door, still happily open. Thankfully, Tikki’s observance saved the moment.

“Marinette, we have a problem! Alya’s coming!”

“What?! Oh-no-oh-no-oh-no-oh-no-oh-no-oh-no! Adrien, you’ve gotta go!”

“Way ahead of you princess. But uh, one more kiss for good luck?” Marinette couldn’t argue with that as she gave him a quick happy peck. “Plagg, Claws Out!” With that, the young man transformed and quickly bounded away just as Alya shot up onto the roof.

“Okay guys, gimme them deets! I- W-wait, where is he?”

“Where’s who?” Marinette was a fairly lousy liar, but she did her best in situations like this.

And she seriously needed to with Alya; the girl couldn’t exactly see through any of Marinette’s cover stories about her alter-ego, but she was getting better. “Don’t gimme that Mari, I know I saw Adrien up here with you. And you were sucking face!”

Marinette chuckled. “Cmon Alya, you sure you weren’t just seeing things? I mean light always does-” Unfortunately, this prompted Alya to show her the picture she had taken, terrifying her.

“Alright girl, explain.”

Marinette just yawned. “I will. But I’m tired; I’m going to bed.”

“He-hey, don’t walk away from me like that Marinette! What is the deal?!” Naturally, Marinette just ignored Alya and slid down to her bed and swiftly fell asleep. Alya left shortly thereafter, swearing that she would find out the details of what happened. But unfortunately, the Parisian rumor-mill is a cruel machine as Marinette would learn the next morning.


	17. Scrapes & Bruises

The morning was surprisingly peaceful for the young hero of Paris, made even more surprising by the fact that she had woken up just five minutes before her alarm. Marinette hadn’t slept that well since she was a kid. With a smile on her face and a song in her heart, she slipped down from her room straight to her home’s dining room where she found her mother. “Bonjour Maman.”

“My-my-my, isn’t this a surprise?” Sabine Cheng was right to say that; it almost always took a few attempts _after_ the alarm went off for her daughter to finally awaken. “What’s got you so fired up today, my little bed-bug?”

Marinette smiled broadly as she sat down to her breakfast. “It’s sort of a long story, Mom. But just as a little warning, I’m planning on going out earlier for a few days, starting tomorrow.”

“Oh really? Breakfast dates with a special someone?” Normally Marinette would’ve tensed at this, but instead, she chuckled, though she _did_ blush a bit.

“Not yet. I’m just going to be getting some early exercise with a friend. Their idea.” Sabine shook her head; she didn’t think she would ever understand what went through her daughter’s head sometimes.

“Well alright, just be careful out there. Wouldn’t want anything happening to my little girl.”

Marinette smirked at her mother as she finished her breakfast. “Relax Mom. You know I can take care of myself.” With that, she simply pecked her mother on the cheek and slipped out the door of the bakery.

“Yeah. I know you can.”

Outside, Marinette smiled as she started walking happily toward the school when she saw Adrien walking over to her. “Adrien? What’re you doing here? What about your driver?”

“You have any idea how good I’ve gotten at ditching my father’s goons?” Marinette cringed at how casually he said that; it was a serious metric for how toxic his relationship with his father was. “Anyway, we have a serious problem.”

“It’s about the picture Alya took, isn’t it?”

“She showed you that, huh?”

This confused Marinette. “Yeah. How’d _you_ know about it?”

“She texted it to Nino, and he forwarded it to me, asking ‘What’s the deal’?” Marinette rolled her eyes; of course, it was Nino’s fault. “Unfortunately, he also forwarded it to Luka and Kagami, and I’m pretty sure at least one of ‘em blabbed because I heard that Chloé is looking for us both.”

“So steer clear of her as best we can, is that what you’re saying?” Marinette smirked as they crossed the street.

“Look at it this way; the only things keeping me from packing my bags and blowing Paris were Hawk Moth and a certain blue-haired princess,” Marinette smirked at him and took his hand as they made it to the curb.

“You know that’s just how the light reflects off it, right?” Marinette smirked; she was very proud of how her hair worked, but she still found it adorable when she had to remind people she was a brunette.

“Doesn’t mean it’s not still cute.” Then he glanced up the concrete and his face smirk quickly turned into a feared grimace. “Oh great. Yellowjacket, 10 o’clock.” Marinette looked and saw that he was unfortunately right; Chloé was closing in on their position with an angry look on her face. She glanced across the courtyard and saw that the rest of their classmates watching near the

Marinette rolled her eyes, a new wave of confidence washing over her as she walked away from Adrien. “I got this.” With that, she moved up to Chloé with a scowl on her face. “What do you want, Chloé?”

“I’m only going to say this once, so you’d better listen.” the mayor’s daughter snapped. “Stay away from Adrien.”

Marinette narrowed her gaze and raised an eyebrow, placing a hand on her hip. “Scuse me?”

“What are you, dumb _and_ deaf?” Wow. Brilliant insult for the girl with _higher grades than you_ , Chloé. “I said stay away from Adrien.”

Marinette scoffed. “I can hang around with anyone I want, thank you very much.” Adrien would be lying if the next comment didn’t bring a smile to his face. “So if you’ll pardon the expression, ‘Buzz off’.”

Chloé growled a bit before it devolved into pretentious chuckling. “You can’t talk to me like that.”

“What’s stopping me? You were there yesterday; you know about my job offer. And who gave it to me.” Marinette smirked; she never thought she would be so grateful for that little gem Connor Hawke had let slip. “You mess with me; you mess with him.”

“Oliver Queen is someone I have to worry about.” Unfortunately, that little gem scared Marinette as she hadn’t told Alya about Oliver’s cover-story yet, so she knew she was going to get even more of an earful from her. “You’re little more than a mosquito.”

“Guess we’re on the same level then,” Marinette smirked; Chloé really was a bloodsucker and everyone knew it. “Now how about you go bug someone else?”

“Last warning, Dupain-Cheng,” Chloé growled. “Stay away from my Adrikins.”

Marinette smirked, gesturing her to come at the young baker. “Make me.”

This made her chuckle. “I don’t think so. I don’t want to dirty my hands on you. Daddy wouldn’t want his princess dirtying her hands on some dirty baker’s kid. After all, everyone adores me.”

“Only in your dreams, Chloé,” Marinette smirked. “And the only kind of princess you are is ‘spoiled’. You’re a huge part of Adrien’s problem, not to mention what’s wrong with Paris.”

“Oh please. How am _I_ what’s wrong with Paris?” Chloé smirked.

Marinette smirked and glanced over to the others nearby. “Show-of-hands; who among you has been Akumatized because of Chloé Bourgeois?” Most of the hands in the class went up, giving Marinette a simple reason to smirk. “And besides, in these sorts of stories, doesn’t the prince go for the pauper’s daughter instead of the stuck-up princess?”

Chloé started seething in rage now. “Everyone _loves_ me.”

Marinette smirked and turned around, moving to saunter away. “Whatever helps you sleep at night Chloé.”

She knew that wouldn’t end the discussion as Chloé would still rebut her, but things were looking good… right up until she glanced over her shoulder to see what sounded like angry footsteps and ended up with her head snapping to the other direction with a loud smack. The street spun for just a second before she fell to her knees near Adrien and a painful warmth blossomed from her cheek… that was when she saw the blood. Drop by drop, it fell to the pavement from her mouth, leaving a splattered red stain.

Multiple gasps were heard from the others as they crowded around the site and started whispering about what they had just seen; Chloé had struck Marinette across the face, one of her long nails catching on the young designer’s lip and cutting it.

“Okay Chloé, that’s enough; cmon- Gah!” That voice and thump right next to her were what really set Marinette off; Chloé had given into her rage too much as she had just punched Adrien in the jaw and sent him to the ground.

Luka could tell from the look on Chloé’s face that she immediately regretted this action, but then he heard angry growling coming from Marinette. He knew what would come next; she was giving in to her rage as well. “Oh boy. Kim?”

“Yeah, I’m on it.” Just as Marinette jumped up to try and attack Chloé in revenge (a prospect Sabrina clearly feared as she retreated behind the group), Kim leaped in and grabbed her by the right arm with Luka grabbing the left, both boys holding their friend back… though it was an uphill battle as Marinette was much stronger than either of the boys expected, causing some of the others there to yell in fear and concern for her to calm down.

“Okay, this isn’t working! Ground on three!” Luka yelled. “One, two, three-down!” With that, both boys dived to the ground, still holding Marinette to try and calm her down over her enraged roaring. “Breathe, Mari! Breathe! It’s okay, it’s okay; we all saw it. We’re all on your side here. You’re okay! You’re okay. You’re okay…” With that, Marinette finally calmed down enough for the boys to pull her to her feet safely. “Okay. Okay, everybody good?”

“You alright, Adrien?” Kagami’s question was stupid; she knew that as she could already see the bruise forming on his cheek, but she still had to know if he was okay as he carefully pulled himself up.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m- I’m good.” He groaned as he spoke, the bruise already hurting. He could tell Chloé was already warming up for an apology, but he just raised a finger and pointed at her in dull anger. “Get out of my sight.”

“Wh- What?” Chloé was reasonably shocked; this was _Adrien_ she was dealing with. “A- Adrien, I-”

“I don’t wanna hear it Chloé,” Adrien growled, angry. “Just- Look; I have been friends with you since before my mom disappeared. I haven’t questioned why until I started coming here when _you_ put that gum on Mari’s seat. You know she blamed _me_ for that? See, that- that right there- was when I realized you had changed. But this?” He gestured at his and Marinette’s faces. “This is a line which you do not cross under any circumstances, but you? You pole-vaulted across it wearing a flaming pink jumpsuit. Now I’m only going to say this one more time and if you don’t listen, I will ruin you; Leave. Us. Alone.”

That was all Adrien had to say before he left, leaving a group of awestruck classmates and a destroyed Chloé in silence… until Nino finally broke that silence with a single word; “Damn.” Marinette blushed and quietly swooned over her hero defending her honor as she and all the rest of her class left for the building, leaving Chloé behind.

Alya knew now was a bad time to ask, but she found she had to as she slipped over to Marinette and grabbed a tissue from nearby, which she slipped over to Marinette’s bleeding lip. “So is now a bad time to ask about you and Adrien?”

If the look that crossed Marinette’s face as she took the tissue was any indication, she wasn’t gonna like her answer. “Alya, stop for a second. Look at me. Now think about what you just said.”

Alya could really only come up with one word; “Touché.”

And unfortunately, that wouldn’t be the last of the drama at school that day, as not only had Hawk Moth almost certainly sensed Chloé’s negative state-of-mind as she walked into school after the crowd, but a conspicuous middle-aged man in a brown suit had arrived at the airport.

“Name?” the man’s answer to the customs agent would soon terrify all those who made Paris their home.

“Henri Ducard.”


	18. Demands of the Demon

“Well, how about that? Five times with the same person.” Hawk Moth was marveling at the new turn of events. “I suppose I might as well make the best of things here and make you a champion yet again.”

“Don’t bother.” Naturally, Hawk Moth was mortified when he heard an unfamiliar voice in his keep and was distracted from creating an Akuma to draw the blade in his cane. “This ‘champion’ of yours has already failed to defeat your adversaries five times over. What makes you think this time will be any different?”

“Who’s there? Show yourself!” His question was simply answered by an aged man in green robes walking out of the shadows in his lair. “Who are you?”

“I’m fairly insulted honestly; I am one of the most wanted enemies of the joke that is Interpol.” The man knew this didn’t answer any questions so he simply smirked as he raised a hand, unveiling a large scimitar on the belt under his cape. “I am he who is known as Ra’s al Ghul, leader of the League of Assassins.”

Hawk Moth clearly recognized what that name meant as he sheathed his blade and planted his cane on the floor. “Alright then. How did you get in here, what do you want, and why should I care?”

“To answer your questions in order; the League of Assassins has infiltrated and destroyed _civilizations_ with better security than this hovel, I merely wish for a place in Paris to hang my cloak for myself and my daughters; Talia and Nyssa…” With that, two women who appeared a bit younger than their father emerged from the shadows behind the supervillain; one with a blade aimed at his neck and one with a bow-and-arrow pointed at his chest. “…And you should care… because I know what you want the other Miraculous for.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course. She’s down in the sub-basement, in a glass coffin.” It was at that moment that Hawk Moth knew he might be screwed. “Terribly cliché, honestly.”

“If you’ve harmed her in any way-”

“Calm yourself, _Gabriel_.” That quickly shut Hawk Moth up; how could he have known? “I simply wish to propose something… a business arrangement.”

Hawk Moth scowled at his forced business partner for a moment. “Dark Wings Fall.” With that, he de-transformed back into his true face; Adrien’s father. “I’m listening.”

“You see, this is not my first brush with someone who has used a Miraculous, much less he who held them.”

This piqued Gabriel’s interest, to say the least. “You know who the Guardian is?”

Ra’s was amused by his new tone. “Let’s just say we had a difference of opinion a few decades ago and leave it at that. But luckily for you, I know where in Paris to find him.”

“Then I take it you want him out of the way?” asked Gabriel.

“Distract the child heroes so it can be done. Do that, and _I_ will heal your wife myself.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “How do you propose to do that? _I_ was planning on using the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses to do it.”

Ra’s chuckled. “Such a simple, trivial means. Tell me; do you know the story of Lazarus of Bethany?”

“A saint resurrected by Christ four days after his death. An impressive miracle.”

Ra’s scoffed. “Miracle is just a kinder way of saying ‘farce’, Mr. Agreste, and history books about heroes are written by those who wish to make them seem superhuman. Christ had no such power to restore someone from death, but he knew of something that did; a pit of mystic chemicals. Once Lazarus touched those chemicals, he returned from death… violently. Though return he did and thus the pit was named in his honor.”

“So I distract Ladybug and Chat Noir to allow you to kill the guardian, and you’ll use this Lazarus Pit to revive Emilie for me.” Gabriel had been in business long enough to know what to say next. “What do you want out of this deal?”

Ra’s smiled; he figured he would hear something like this, but then he sighed a bit. “The League of Assassins is falling apart at the seams. There was a time centuries ago when the mere mention of my existence made empires crumble. I want that power again.”

“You want the Miraculous,” Gabriel said, understanding.

Or at least, he _thought_ he understood, but Ra’s’ chuckling threw him for a loop. “Hardly. Once the young heroes and the guardian are out of the way, the Miraculouses are yours to do with as you please. I simply wish for a… launching ground for my Order to conquer the world from the shadows once again. Once that is done, I will exterminate everything wrong with this world. And once you’ve rallied forces of Miraculous wielders, it will be _your_ objective to ensure that no one dares challenge my rule.”

Gabriel mulled it over in his head for a minute but then smiled. “We have a deal.” Ra’s smiled right back and shook hands with the tailor. “So, how big of a distraction do you need?”

“Nothing too big.” Talia shrugged, admiring her blade. “Simply enough to draw the heroes’ attention to another part of the city. My operative can handle things from there.” With that, another man emerged from the shadows; this one wearing scale-pattern armor and a multi-eyed mask. “Allow me to introduce League of Assassins Syd Qatal Simon Lacroix, otherwise known as Komodo.”

Gabriel nodded, acknowledging the assassin. “Well then, perhaps a good distraction _would_ be Mlle. Bourgeois, eh?”

Ra’s rolled his eyes but shrugged, waving a hand at the man. “Proceed at your discretion, Agreste.” And indeed he did, swiftly transforming back before creating an Akuma and sending it out after Chloé. The city of Paris had no idea what it was in for.


	19. Stingers

It took some simple first-aid from their friends, but the wounds Chloé dealt to Marinette and Adrien were quickly attended to and on the road to healing… though it was clear from the look on her face that the emotional damage Adrien dealt in vengeance would be with Chloé for a good long while.

Marinette was actually worried about her as she glanced at Adrien, who was now sitting next to her as Alya and Nino had wanted to help them get closer. “You sure you didn’t go overboard?”

Adrien narrowed his eyes as he thought it over. “Maybe.” He smirked. “But you have to admit; you’ve been wanting to hear someone put Chloé down like that for a good long while.”

“Well sure, but that still doesn’t make it right.” Marinette quickly glanced around the room to make sure no one was listening before she started whispering. “What if she gets Akumatized because of this?”

Her love simply shrugged. “If that happens, then we turn her back and I apologize. No harm, no foul.” Marinette wasn’t sure she trusted this new mindset Adrien had adopted, so once the bell for the end of class rang, she quickly slipped out ahead of him to spend her free period thinking in the library.

“What’s wrong Marinette?” the young girl was spooked for a second until she saw her Kwami on the table in front of her.

“Ugh, I don’t know Tikki.” She balanced her head on her hand which she leaned on the table. “I just feel like… the more I get to know the ‘real’ Adrien, the more I forget about the Adrien I knew. Does that make sense?”

“Not a lot. But this might just be his way of defending you. It’s not the first time.” Marinette was confused by what that meant. “Chat Noirs have always been defending Ladybugs in their own ways. For Hercules and Hippolyta, it meant him defending them both from Hera’s wrath with his bare hands. Adrien’s just doing the same thing in his own way.”

Marinette shook her head. “I understand that. But I have to argue with his methods.”

“As did all the past Ladybugs. But Adrien will figure things out. I promise.” Marinette smiled; through thick and thin, she knew she could count on her Kwami’s guidance.

“Marinette?” She knew that voice anywhere; Alya. “You in here?” Quickly Tikki flitted into Marinette’s purse just as Alya came around the bookshelf behind her. “There you are, girl. You doin’ okay?”

She nodded as her friend sat down across from her. “Just a little worried. Do you think Adrien went overboard with Chloé outside?”

Alya snickered a bit. “You? Worried about _Chloé_? Never thought I’d see the day.”

“I’m serious Alya; she looked destroyed. I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets Akumatized and comes after me and Adrien as payback.”

Alya just shrugged. “Well hey, if that happens, I’m sure Ladybug and Chat Noir will show up to save you.”

Marinette smirked; Alya may have been a dogged investigator, but she still had no clue how to tell what was right in front of her. “Yeah well, that’s obvious.” With that, she dropped her face again. “But seriously though; answer the question.”

“Cmon Marinette, you’ve seen his reactions when she gets too close to him. I’m surprised he didn’t boil over before now.”

“Well sure, but why let it happen today? What happened?”

Alya shrugged. “Even fabulous models wake up on the wrong side of the bed sometimes. Plus, I’m pretty sure that bruise on his chin didn’t do her any favors.” Marinette smiled again, before noticing Alya’s smile. “Speaking of Adrien though, seriously girl; the whole class is starving. Gimme some deets to relay.”

Marinette shrugged; she knew she was coming up with this excuse on the fly, but it was the best she could do. “Eh. Not much to tell. I got in the way of that Scarecrow guy’s attack and Adrien saved me. After we were clear, I confessed and well…” She sighed. “Okay look; this next part, I tell you in confidence so you have to swear to me you won’t tell anyone else. Not even Nino.” Alya nodded, drawing an X over her heart with her finger. Marinette took a deep breath and sighed before she finished her thought; “… he uh, he invited me to work-out with him on mornings.”

Alya was amazed to hear this and stood up, hand running over her head. “Shut the front door.”

“I’m serious.” Marinette smiled, making Alya chuckle a bit. “R- Really!”

“So is that what you two were talking about on your roof last night?” All that transpired between the two friends after that was friendly joking.

While on the other side of the school, Chloé was huddled in a corner in the gym, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes… unfortunately blinding her to the small familiar black insect that flitted behind her and fused with her jacket, causing the ever-familiar mask outline to appear over her face. “ _Yellowjacket, it’s been far too long._ ” Chloé knew that voice from before, and dreaded it; Hawk Moth. “ _I see you’ve been scorned yet again, and if you accept this gift, those who did it shall learn hell hath no fury. You know my price._ ”

“Gladly, Hawk Moth.” With that, she was transformed once more; this time, her skin turned gleaming yellow, and her jacket sprouted insect-like wings with her sleeves extended to her hands allowing her fingernails to extend into claws. Once she opened her eyes, she growled as she knew exactly who to go after.


	20. The Magician

They were outside, talking with some of the others. “So what was that Chloé said about Oliver Queen offering you a job?” Alya had already filled the others in on Marinette and Adrien’s exercise routine (much to Marinette's chagrin since Alya promised not to), but she still hadn’t told them anything about what Oliver said.

“Well uh, I heard he was opening a new clothing division of his company.” Marinette shrugged as she remembered Oliver’s cover-story.

Adrien nodded. “Yeah and apparently, he’s seen some of her work for my father, so he offered her a job in that division once she graduates.”

“Whaat?! Girl, what happened to working for Gabriel brand?”

Adrien chuckled at this question. “Alya, I don’t know if I’ve told you this before or not, but my father doesn’t exactly pay well.”

“Oh, he’ll pay.” The whole class looked to the door and saw the now Akumatized Chloé there. “In full.”

“Chloé?” Adrien’s question had obvious terror to it.

Terror she easily picked up on, as she extended her nails before they turned gunmetal gray. “Chloé Bourgeois isn’t here right now. The name’s Yellowjacket!” Then with one strong swing of both her hands, her nails shot off at the group. They all quickly jumped back as the nails flew toward them like bullets…

…Before they heard something. “Ezylarap eht sregnits-lian!” With that, Yellowjacket’s nail-stingers froze in mid-air just inches from the class. Everyone looked off to the side and saw a young man with sparkling blue eyes…

…Whom Alya seemed to recognize. “Wait a minute, aren’t you that magician hero from Gotham?”

He smiled. “Ah. I see I have a fan. In that case… Emit rof a erom elbazingocer kool.” In a swirl of grey smoke and blue sparkles, his casual-seeming clothes were swiftly exchanged for a four-piece tuxedo. “Indeed madam, I _am_ Zachary Zatara; Prince of Prestidigitation. And as for you, miss… Yellowjacket, was it? Well…” With that, he slapped his gloved hands together and summoned a formal cane to his hand, which he spun like a staff. “How about I show you a few steps before you try dancin’ with this lot?”

“Oh-ho-ho, you wanna dance with me?” Yellowjacket’s chuckle was made all the scarier by her nails lengthening and turning silver. “What sort of moves do you have?”

“Well, let’s start things off with something simple;” He took a few rhythmic steps before something slipped from his left coat-sleeve into his hand. “Cha, cha-cha, cha-cha-cha-chachacha- **smoke-bomb**!” With that, he tossed the item from his sleeve on the ground, summoning a large cloud of black smoke. “Emoks, emoceb a dlofdnilb!” With that, a large mass of the smoke from the cloud formed around Yellowjacket’s eyes, blinding her to anything that happened around her. “Run!”

No need to tell them twice; the class quickly retreated into the school, most of the class retreating into the locker rooms as Marinette and Adrien slipped under the stands. “Shall we, Chaton?”

“Not quite yet, My Lady,” Adrien smirked. “I’ve been thinking; maybe when we transform together we should do some sort of… y’know, routine.”

“What, like a choreographed duo thing?”

Adrien shrugged. “Why not? We each do it alone.”

Marinette thought for a moment; she figured she couldn’t argue with that logic. “Eh, alright. Let’s uh, let’s try something as we transform this time.”

“Thankfully I already have an idea.” He quickly whispered it to her and she nodded, clearly liking it. “Not bad, huh?”

“Not bad at all,” Marinette smirked.

With that in mind, Adrien checked to make sure no one was peeking out from the doors before they both slid out, Adrien slipping his left arm around Marinette’s waist. Obviously, she blushed a bit at the touch but smiled anyway.

“Tikki, Spots On!”  
“Plagg, Claws Out!”

They said their catchphrases at the same time and as their Kwamis flew into the Miraculous, Adrien quickly spun Marinette into his arms as she wrapped hers around his neck. Then they split apart, still holding onto each other with one hand (Adrien’s left, Marinette’s right specifically), and waved their free hands over their eyes to form their masks. With that, Adrien spun his lady around before he threw her into the air, allowing her suit to form as she tumbled in the air. Adrien’s suit formed as well, as he spun on the ground and stuck his hands up to allow Ladybug to land directly in them before she jumped down and they both posed.

Chat chuckled as they broke this pose though. “Told you that’d be cool.”

“What made it look like I doubted that?”

Unfortunately, she didn’t get an answer right that moment as Zachary was subsequently blasted through the door of the gym and right up to the heroes on his back, a tad on the crispy side and with two of the silver stingers from earlier in his left shoulder. “Ow. Ugh, bout time you two showed up.”

Chat rolled his eyes and pulled the nails out of his shoulder, making him cringe in pain. “Nice to meet you too, Monsieur.” Then he looked at the nails and was surprised; they weren’t standard fingernail material anymore, they looked more like solid steel. “Well, this might be one of the more dangerous Akumas we’ve faced.” He dropped the nails and indeed, they even clattered to the ground like they were metal.

“We can handle it though, right kitty?” asked Ladybug.

“With _this guy_ as back-up?” Chat smirked, pointing at Zachary. “I don’t like our chances.”

“Oi!”

Chat smirked. “Kidding. We got this.” With that, Yellowjacket entered with only her right index fingernail extended and colored an explosive red. “At least… I hope we got this.”


	21. The Hive

It was obvious Yellowjacket was pissed off as she looked around and found no sign of her targets. “Where are they?!”

“Safe. Which, I’m afraid, is more than I can say for you, love.” Zachary spun his staff around and charged along with Chat, but Yellowjacket simply fired her nails, which started exploding on contact with the ground, blasting them away.

“Okay, this isn’t going well.” Chat groaned as he pulled himself up. “Any ideas, My Lady?”

“Best guess? The Akuma is in her jacket.” That much was obvious to the young hero. “Problem is, I don’t think she’s gonna stand still long enough for us to get it.”

“They never do.” Zachary scowled as Yellowjacket started flying around them on her wings. “Thankfully, I think I have a plan to level the playing field. Etativel su!” At that incantation, the three of them suddenly started floating in the air.

“Whoa! Okay, this is weird.” Chat said honestly. “Uh, how do we do this?”

“You guys ever seen Superman fly? Just do the same basic thing as him.” As if to illustrate this, Zachary thrust a fist forward and started flying around the gym to take some of Yellowjacket’s fire. The two young heroes smiled and followed his lead, striking at Yellowjacket in air, though it still wasn’t enough as they were both swiftly thrown back to the ground.

Ladybug growled and in her hope, something… unexpected happened; some sort of ladybug-print cape with two tails formed on her back before it spread and revealed a second cape that looked like a pair of intricate wings like the ones ladybugs actually had. Once they formed, she leaped into the air, surprised at how she didn’t just fall to the ground… and rationally astonished when she saw her wings. “Whoa! Since when could I sprout wings?”

“Who cares? I like ‘em!” Chat smirked as he leaped into the fray as well, grabbing his Lady’s hand…

A gesture she smirked to as well. “Me too.” Without much else in the way of fanfare, she tossed Chat at Yellowjacket but was swiftly tossed over into Zachary. “Ooh! Sorry, that’s on me!” Quickly, she pulled her yo-yo and started using the string to block Yellowjacket’s fingernail blades from slashing her as the two pulled themselves up.

“Ugh. And here I thought cats always landed on their feet.” Zachary groaned.

“Yeah, sorry. Any ideas?”

“Well, I’ve already tried extracting the Akuma with my magic, but it didn’t work. I’ll give you Miraculous users one thing; your powers are somethin’ else. We’re gonna have to do this the hard way.”

“Fine with me. My Lady?”

“On it!” Ladybug nodded and tossed her yo-yo. “Lucky Charm!” When the sparkles faded, a familiar item fell into her hand. “A newspaper?” Quickly, she glanced at the headline and was surprised by it; it was an article about Chloé as Queen Bee when she first revealed her identity to the people of Paris. Then it came flooding back; after her father was Akumatized into Malediktator, Chloé began to understand the pressure of her title, even surrendering the Bee Miraculous after Sabrina was Akumatized into Miraculer without much resistance. Even without using her Lucky Sight, she knew what she had to do. “Zatara, restrain her!”

“With pleasure! Lartsa sdnah, niartser Tekcajwolley!” With that incantation, Yellowjacket was suddenly gripped by a strange set of hands composed of blue sparkles, even a few grabbing onto her wings.

“Ow! Hey, let me go!” she yelled, struggling as Zachary floated her over to Ladybug…

…Who showed her the newspaper, making her stop. “Look at it, Chloé. Remember who you really are. We all know you can be… difficult, but that hasn’t stopped you from helping us. From saving Paris more times than I can count.” Chloé could hardly look at the article, but she was still engrossed as the good memories came flooding back; from when she first found the Miraculous and helped Ladybug save her mother to Sabrina’s more recent transformation. “This isn’t you Chloé, I know it’s not. You’re not Yellowjacket; you are Queen Bee. You’re a hero!” Zachary choked on that last bit for some reason, which admittedly confused Ladybug, but she was too focused on helping Chloé remember.

And it looked like it was working as small tears started falling from her eyes, all the memories flooding back… all the way back to when she and Adrien were kids. Suddenly Hawk Moth’s light mask appeared on her face. “ _Don’t listen to them Yellowjacket! Destroy them now and bring me the Miraculous!_ ”

Chloé just gripped her head, Zachary’s magic fading and letting her fall to the ground. “N-No! NO! Get out of my head! Leave me alone!”

“ _This power is yours, Chloé! Use it, don’t reject it!_ ”

Finally, her eyes shot open in rage and sorrow, and she pulled her jacket off. “I already have!” With that, she tossed her jacket over to Chat Noir, who snapped out of his amazement at his Lady’s achievement and used his Cataclysm on the jacket, letting it decay until the Akuma flitted out of it.

“No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma.” Ladybug couldn’t help but blink the happy tears from her eyes; that act from Chloé was probably the greatest thing she’d ever seen. Without a second thought, she swung her yo-yo for the umpteenth time. “Time to de-evilize!” Once the Akuma was snatched out of the air, Ladybug smiled as it flew back to her hand. “Gotcha!” When she opened it this time, she was surprised as the butterfly fluttered up to her hand for a second, almost kissing her hand in gratitude before it flew away. The young heroine couldn’t help but smile as it left. “Bye-bye, little butterfly.” Once it was gone, she simply picked up the newspaper again, marveling at the article again and how happy she was that worked. “Miraculous Ladybug!”

With that, the damage all reverted as Chloé herself transformed back to normal, still letting sad tears slide down her face. Chat smiled as he walked forward and extended a fist to his lady. “Pound it?”

Ladybug smiled at her partner and bumped her fist against his. “Pound it.” After that, she grabbed the jacket and kneeled in front of Chloé with an impressed look on her face. “Nice work, Chloé. That’s the second time you’ve managed to reject Hawk Moth.”

Chloé gave a weak chuckle as she pulled her jacket back on. “Some rejection. I still did some damage this time.”

“Yeah, but hey; a rejection’s a rejection.” Chat smirked. “Either way, you’ve made your impact Chloé. And I think… you’ve earned a little present for your troubles.”

Ladybug was confused about what he meant for a second, but then it came to her and she smiled; normally she wouldn’t even think of doing this, but she figured this was a special occasion. “I think I agree.”

“Well, if that’s the case, best go somewhere no one’ll interfere.” Zachary smiled, weaving magic. “Dnes su ot eht liffie rewot!” With that, smoke swirled around the four of them and suddenly deposited them at the top of the Eiffel Tower, surprising the others.

“Whoa! How’d you do that?” asked Chat.

“I’m a Homo Magi.” Zachary smiled. “Anyway, I think I’ll give you lot a bit of privacy. Don’t wanna intrude on an internal matter like this. Au revoir.” With that, he disappeared and left the three alone just before both Miraculouses beeped at the last minute.

“Well, no turning back now.” Ladybug smiled at Chat as they suddenly detransformed right in front of Chloé, whose eyes went wide with shock.

“M-Marinette? A-Adrien?” The two smirked; they expected that this would be her reaction.

“Surprise?” After Marinette said that, Chloé did something unexpected and kneeled in front of her and started apologizing faster than she and Adrien could keep up with. “Well… this is happening…”

“Yeah. That’s uh… that’s one way to put it.” Adrien shrugged; he probably had to do something before Chloé caused a scene. “Uh… Chloé? Chloé, could you- could you get up, please? You’re kinda… kinda embarrassing us here.” Clearly Chloé wasn’t listening as she just kept apologizing for everything that she’d ever done. “CHLOÉ!”

“Gah! Uh sorry!” Quickly she pulled herself back to her feet and cleaned herself up. “I just- Wow! Seriously?”

“Seriously.” Marinette smiled. “Now uh, maybe we should- maybe we should get back to school.” After she said that, they all suddenly disappeared from the tower and reappeared in the gym under the stands. “What the-?”

“Oh sorry love, were you not done?” They were naturally scared at this, but when they looked behind them, they saw Zachary right there in his casual wear.

“No, we were. How did you-?” Suddenly a ladybug buzzed out of Marinette’s jacket and flew to Zachary’s hand… before it disappeared in blue sparkles, surprising the present Kwamis.

“Little familiar. I figured I might need to keep an eye on you just to know when to bring you back.” he shrugged nonchalantly as he said this. “Anyway, I suppose you’re about ready for your new teammate here to be a… permanent fixture.”

“Mm, maybe.” Adrien shrugged. “We’ll have to check with Master Fu.”

“Master who?” Chloé’s question there made Adrien chuckle a bit.

“No-no-no, Master _Fu_ , the Guardian of the Miraculous,” he explained. “Where do you think Pollen goes when you’re not using her?”

Chloé chuckled a bit as well, lightly punching him on the arm. “Alright, I guess you’ve got me there.”

“Well, at least if he does, we’ll know it’s because he believes in you.” Marinette nodded. “Thanks for the help, Zachary.”

“Not at all, love. Well, I best head home. Me ma’s probably worryin’ about me. Ta.” With that and a simple snap of his fingers, Zachary Zatara disappeared in blue sparkling smoke.

Once he was gone, Adrien and Marinette quickly called the class out of the locker room and they got on with their day.

Unfortunately, after Yellowjacket’s failure, Hawk Moth was left in the firing line of Ra’s al Ghul and his daughters. “As to be expected.” Ra’s said bluntly.

Hawk Moth smirked. “Hardly. You said you wanted a distraction, and I gave you one. They weren’t even paying attention to what’s happened to their master.”

“You’ll forgive me for this Master…” All four looked and saw Komodo walking in from the shadows. “But he is right.”

“Your mission was a success then?” asked Talia.

“Partially, madam. The Guardian has fallen, but I could not find the Miracle Box.” Ra’s scowled at this as he turned back to Hawk Moth.

“Well then… in that case Gabriel, I suppose your wife's time in the Lazarus Pit will have to be put on hold.” Hawk Moth scowled; he knew he would regret this down the line but as of now, he was happy to make a deal with a clan of demons.


	22. What Happened?

Even after dealing with Chloé and revealing her true identity to her, the day went by fairly uneventfully for Marinette Dupain-Cheng, even with Adrien walking her home. “Y’know, you really didn’t have to do this. I highly doubt that I’d get mugged or something while crossing the street.”

“You can never be too careful,” Adrien smirked. “After all, what knight would allow his princess to return home alone?”

Marinette rolled her eyes as she turned back to face him once they reached the door. “Well, if you think of yourself as a knight, then doesn’t your chosen maiden deserve a good-bye kiss?”

Adrien smirked, giving a small feline-like growl as he slipped forward and gave his princess a little peck before he turned to leave. “Until tomorrow morning, my lady.” With that, he walked off down the street and left Marinette to enter her old home… and come face-to-face with her smirking mother.

“What?”

“Nothing. I think I just figured out who your ‘work-out partner’ is.”

Marinette could _hear_ the air-quotes her mom included in there, and she blushed bright red at it. “M-Mom!”

Sabine chuckled a bit as she went back to stocking the pastry counter. “Relax honey, you know I’m just messing with you. Though I have to say, I wouldn’t mind it if you brought him for dinner someday.” That just made Marinette blush even brighter and even pout, making her mother laugh even harder. Finally, she got herself under control and looked right at her young daughter. “Oh, by the way, a package came for you earlier.”

That made Marinette’s blush fade and her pout disappear. “Really? From who?”

“I dunno. Someone named Wang Fu.” Marinette knew that name anywhere; the nearly 200-year old Guardian of the Miraculous. The Guardian who was training her to follow in his footsteps.

But it didn’t make much in the way of sense; what would Master Fu have to send her? And why send it to her when he could easily just bring it to her personally? All questions she would have to answer when she found the package. “Where is it?”

“Oh, your father left it on your chaise.”

“Okay, thanks, Mom.” Marinette smiled as she slipped over and pecked her on the cheek before she slipped up the stairs to her room and indeed found a smallish box on her chaise, with a return address across town.

It took a moment for her to open it with her simple letter opener, but once the box flipped open, what she saw inside shocked both her and Tikki to their cores. It was the Miracle Box; the magic repository of all the Miraculouses that had never left Master Fu’s side since he accidentally unleashed that Sentimonster at the temple of the Guardians. But it still didn’t make sense; why would Master Fu send it to her? Thankfully, she also saw a small note under the Miracle Box which she hoped would explain everything… along with his smart-tablet?

Quickly, she emptied the box and ripped open the note, thankfully written in French; “ _Marinette, if you’re reading this, it most likely means I’ve been attacked by an old adversary._ ” This alone scared Marinette, but she kept reading anyway to see what this meant. “ _In my long life of protecting the Miracle Box, I’ve made more than a few mistakes as by now, you are no doubt aware, and several of those mistakes resulted in making myself several enemies. Unfortunately, one of them has apparently caught up with me, for only one thing; the Miracle Box and my research on the Kwamis’ power-ups. Therefore, I’m sending them all to you along with a translation guide for the spellbook’s text. I’m sorry for not completing your training myself, but this is the best I’m able to do. Forgive me, Wang Fu._ ”

Marinette was terrified about the implications this note held, so she quickly pulled her phone up and dialed Adrien’s number, waiting anxiously for him to pick up for a few seconds. “ _Missing me already, My Lady?_ ”

“Master Fu’s been attacked.”

“ _What? How do you know?_ ”

“Because he just mailed the Miracle Box to me, along with all his research on power-ups for our Kwamis and a note specifically saying he’s been attacked.”

“ _You said you have **all** the Miraculouses now?_”

“Yeah. I’ll get Chloé and we’ll meet you at this address.” With that, she quickly texted a picture of the address on the box to Adrien. “Make it quick.” With that, she hung up and quickly stood.

“You ready, Marinette?” Tikki asked, determined.

“Almost. There’s something I haven’t asked you yet.” Marinette remembered. “When we were fighting Chloé, I sprouted wings. I was hoping you knew what that meant.”

Tikki seemed surprised as well. “I… don’t actually. But Master Fu might.”

“Well, let’s hope he’s still in a condition to answer. Spots on!” Once she transformed, she grabbed the Bee Miraculous and leaped out onto her roof and started running along rooftops until she made it to Le Grand Paris, where she gently knocked on Chloé’s glass balcony door, surprising her.

“Mari-er, Ladybug, what’re you doing here?” She quietly opened the balcony door and allowed her hero in.

“Master Fu’s been attacked; we need your help to investigate.” With that, she simply extended her hand with a small Miraculous box in her hand. “You ready to get back into the fight, Queen Bee?”

Chloé smiled at her costumed friend as she took the box. “Definitely.” Without hesitation, she opened her box and smiled as a familiar yellow light flitted around her head before reforming as her Kwami.

“Good to see you again, my Queen.” Ladybug rolled her eyes; she still couldn’t believe that Pollen called Chloé that.

“Good to see you too, old friend. And you’ll be seeing a lot of me.” Chloé smirked as she said this. “Pollen, Buzz On!” With that, she burned up in a bright aura of yellow and black light before it faded and she was finally Queen Bee in all her glory. “Where to, Ladybug?”

“Follow me. Chat will meet us there.” With that, the two of them jumped off the roof, doing their best to avoid the gaze of the people on the late afternoon streets until they arrived at a surprisingly simple-looking apartment on the west-side of Paris… though the police were only a few minutes ahead of the young heroes, judging from the departing sirens and signs of their presence.

Carefully Ladybug slipped the balcony door open, doing her best not to disturb anything inside… when a familiar bo-staff quickly extended in front of her. “I’d watch my step if I were you, my lady. Observe.” He slowly poked his staff in and touched something on the ground, revealed to be a tripwire, which suddenly caused two crossbows to fire at the wall just a few inches away from Ladybug’s face. Chat smiled proudly as he snipped the tripwire with his claws. “Feline vision. Comes in handy.”

Ladybug just rolled her eyes. “No one likes a show-off, kitty.”

Chat chuckled a bit as the three slipped in. “That’s rich coming from you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m a model. All I do is show off and you _love_ me.” Ladybug couldn’t argue with that.

Queen Bee just rolled her eyes. “Save it for later, you two. Let’s see if we can figure out what happened here.”

“Alright, but just a little warning; I may look a bit like him in low light, but I’m not Batman.” Chat shrugged as he looked around.

Ladybug chuckled; he was right, he did look a bit like Batman when the lights were dimmed. Looking around, one thing became obvious to her; “Looks like Master Fu put up a good fight.”

“Honestly, that’s pretty surprising.” That comment from Chat drew a quizzical look from Ladybug and he just shrugged. “I mean, without Wayzz on hand…” He had a point; Ladybug _had_ seen the Turtle Miraculous in the Miracle Box when she opened it.

“Well, either way, he couldn’t have lasted long.” Queen Bee shrugged, looking at the mess in the room. “Whoever he was fighting knew what they were doing.”

“Yeah, and these say something too;” Chat had fished the crossbows out from the side of the room. “They were prepared. Frighteningly so.”

That brought something else to Ladybug’s attention. “Do you think we can tell what kind of weapons his enemy used?”

Queen Bee looked around and found something impressive. “Looks like we’re dealing with a swordsman.” Indeed, there were slash-marks on the wall and several pieces of furniture were cut in a few places.

Then Chat’s nose started twitching; apparently, his powers also enhanced his senses so he quickly slipped over to the wall the arrows were embedded in and cautiously pulled one out. He wasn’t sure what he was smelling so he cautiously touched the flat of one of the arrowheads to his tongue before he quickly spat the taste off his tongue again. “Ugh. These arrows are poisoned. Whoever did this must be some sort of professional.”

Marinette quickly saw what looked like footprints on the floor… from heavy combat boots, not the sort of thing Master Fu would wear. “I’d say he has Size 43 men’s shoes. European scale, of course.”

“I guess the only question we have left is who attacked Master Fu?” Queen Bee shrugged.

“We have some connections with more powerful crime-fighters. We’ll see if we can find anything out.” Chat smirked, still not letting Chloé in on the fact that he and Ladybug were now affiliated with the Justice League. “In the meantime, we’ll go see if we can find out where the police took Master Fu… if he’s still alive.”

“Don’t say stuff like that Chat.” Ladybug said firmly. “Our Master is alive but bedridden in a hospital, and I intend to find out who put him there and how to fight them.” With that, she leaped off the balcony and swung away, leaving Chat smiling behind her.

“God, she’s hot when she gets like that.” That was the last thought Chat had before he swiftly followed her.


	23. The Demon

It was a fairly quick run across the rooftops to Hospital Saint-Louis where Ladybug and Chat found the police escorting Master Fu in on a stretcher… along with a familiar pair of gentlemen nearby. “What’re they doing here?”

“I don’t know. But I think we should go find out.” Chat nodded easily at his lady’s reasoning as they both swung down to an empty alley and detransformed, which surprised Marinette when she saw that Adrien was dressed like Benedict Cumberbatch in _Sherlock_ , plus a black fedora. “Dare I even ask?”

“Contingency plan. In case we happened to de-transform somewhere I might get recognized too easily.”

“Don’t you think you’ll stick out like a sore thumb like that around the police?” Adrien thought it through for a second and realized she was right, so he quickly found a clean-ish bag nearby and quickly stuck his “contingency plan” into it before he moved to hide it behind a nearby dumpster before they left the alley to join Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. “When did you guys get to Paris?”

“About five minutes ago.” Dick shrugged, straightening his turtleneck. “Zachary’s an old friend; he told me Chloé might’ve been a distraction for something bigger. Turns out he was right; cause Bruce knew your master and gave him a panic button.”

“Wait a minute, you know Master Fu?” Adrien was reasonably surprised.

“We met before I returned to Gotham.” Bruce nodded. “He offered me the Bat Miraculous to keep; I liked it, but I told him I could work better with what I have naturally.”

“So you gave him a panic button?” asked Marinette.

“Just in case something came up that not even he could handle.” Bruce nodded. “I never expected him to need to use it, but here we are.” After a minute, a doctor walked out after Fu had been sent in. “Is he okay?”

“Relatively, Mr. Wayne. The next few hours will tell the story.” he smiled after that and extended a hand. “I just want to thank you for agreeing to fund his stay here; he’ll be getting the best medical attention in France this way.”

“No problem. I’d like to visit him, but unfortunately business calls. Let’s go, Dick.”

“Yes, sir.” With that, the two moved to climb back aboard the Lamborghini Huracan when Adrien slipped out in front of them.

“We’ve already run our own investigation.” Bruce was surprised at this and moved away from his car, crossing his arms.

“Alright. Impress me.”

Adrien smirked at his lady as they both walked over to him. “Whoever attacked Master Fu wears a European Men’s size-43 shoe, knows how to plan several steps ahead, and uses swords and poisoned arrows.”

That piqued Dick’s interest. “Poisoned… arrows?” He glanced at Bruce with an expression that read as “ _You don’t think…?_ ”

Unfortunately, Bruce’s expression said; “ _I’m afraid so_ ”, so they both knew something was wrong as Bruce quickly turned to the two young heroes. “How many other Miraculous users are there in this city?”

“On our side? Nine, including us and Chloé, but aside from her (and a few other exceptions), none of them know who each other are.” Marinette whispered that last part but was still as honest as she could be.

“Fix that. Then message the League when your whole team is assembled; we’ll handle the rest.” With that, he climbed into the car.

“W- Wait, what? Why?” Adrien felt he deserved an answer to that question.

“Just do as he says, guys.” Dick nodded, climbing in as well. “Or you might end up with the same fate as your master.” With that, he shut the car’s door and it roared away.

This night had left the two heroes with more questions than answers, which scared them. What fate had Dick been referring to? Unfortunately, Adrien thought he saw the answer to that question when he saw a silhouette on the roof of the hospital. “Hey, what’s that?”

Marinette quickly looked and was terrified. “Best guess? The person who attacked our master. Let’s do this.” The two quickly ran down an alley and transformed before Ladybug air-lifted Chat to the roof of the hospital, where they came face-to-face with a man whose image would strike fear into their hearts.

“Who are you?” Chat bellowed, staff at the ready.

“I am Ra’s al Ghul, and I have come to finish my subordinate’s work.”

“‘Subordinate’s’-?” Suddenly it made sense to Ladybug as she growled. “So one of your men attacked our Master.”

“Unfortunately, while he did succeed in defeating and weakening Fu, he failed in his true mission; slay him and bring me the box.” Ladybug growled at his blunt response.

“So then you want the Miraculous. What, are you working for Hawk Moth?”

This clearly angered the great Demon as he swung his sword at the young bluenette, though it was blocked by Chat’s staff. “I serve no man! Men serve me…”

“Well, that’s intimidating.” Chat said candidly before he swung his staff and forced Ra’s away.

“Good. That was the intention.” With that, he undid his long cloak and let it fall around his ankles. “Under normal circumstances, you must understand that I would never be out here; I prefer not to get my hands dirty unless absolutely necessary. But sometimes, even a god must stoop to conquer.”

“You call yourself a god? Pfft.” Chat smirked as he charged. “More like the devil!” With that, he clashed his weapon with that of the villain until he and Ladybug had managed to force him to the edge of the roof, though it hardly seemed like he broke a sweat in the whole fight… but that quickly changed when Ladybug shot her yo-yo out behind his legs and tripped him up, knocking him off-balance and nearly making him fall off the roof.

“Feel free to give up any time.” Chat smirked.

Ra’s smirked at Chat’s cockiness as he looked off behind the two heroes. “Why would I give up when I have already won?”

Neither hero was sure what he meant by that until they heard a bowstring release behind them and each felt something slash across their necks. “OW!” They both looked and saw Ra’s had dropped his sword to catch the arrows that had clearly just cut their necks… the same design of arrows as the ones they found at Master Fu’s apartment.

And judging from the strange weakness and nausea they were both feeling, it was obvious these arrows were just as poisoned as those ones as well. They both dropped their weapons and fell to the ground as the poison started taking more effect before a young-looking woman walked between them to Ra’s before she took her arrows and replaced them in her quiver. “An excellent shot as always, Nyssa.”

“Thank you, Father. Shall we dispose of them and take their Miraculous now?”

“No, not yet. I think I’d like to see if that fool Hawk Moth can do that himself before the night is over.” With that, he retrieved his cloak, sheathed his sword, and kneeled in front of the two heroes. “My apologies for leaving so abruptly. Perhaps we can conclude our battle at a later date… assuming the poison doesn’t kill you. Until then, I bid you adieu. Nyssa?”

“Yes, father.” With that, they both dove off the roof, clearly to some sort of transportation on the ground which took them away.

Chat groaned to try and keep down the vomit he felt welling up in his throat and pressed the button on his communicator. “Ch- Chat Noir to Watchtower.”

“ _This is Martian Manhunter. What seems to be the problem, Chat?_ ” The Martian didn’t get a straight answer as Chat and Ladybug were both groaning and retching, trying not to let the poison kill them. It was obvious that J’onn read Chat’s mind and quickly understood the severity of the situation, judging by what he said next. “ _Understood. Dispatching Hawkman and Hawkwoman to your position in Javelin 3._ ”

“H-Hurry.” That was the last thing Chat could say as he heard the connection terminate. Trying not to aggravate his stomach any more than it already had been, he reached his hand to Ladybug, who took it with pained and distressed tears streaming down her face. “D-Don’t leave me, My Lady.”

“Never.” That was the last thing Chat heard before he and Ladybug both blacked out, succumbing to the poison. This would have to be a fast rescue.


	24. Explanation

A headache wasn’t exactly what Adrien was expecting when he woke up. Of course, he wasn’t expecting his feather-allergies to act up either but here he was… waking up with a headache and a stuffed nose. At least when he woke up, he managed to see _why_ his allergies were acting up; Hawkman was off on the side of the room, preening his wings. “Ugh. Do you mind? I have a feather allergy.”

“Oh right.” With that, he swiftly put his wings away. “Sorry.”

“Take it easy, Adrien.” a voice said. He looked and saw a young woman in a doctor’s coat examining the now-awakened Marinette… though something was weird about the doctor; her skin was blue and her hair was white. “We managed to filter most of the poison out of your systems, but there’s still a small measure of residue, so don’t strain yourselves.”

“‘Filter’? How?”

“Blood transfusions. We’re just lucky we managed to find compatible donors in the crew.” This doctor quickly realized something and walked over, putting her coat down. “Sorry, we haven’t been introduced yet: Dr. Caitlin Snow; metabiologist and medic for the Justice League, alias Coldsnap.”

“Pleasure. So what happened exactly? I think I blacked out.”

“You did.” Both heroes were surprised at Bruce’s presence in the med-bay… and a little miffed. “You shouldn’t have engaged Ra’s.”

“We would’ve known not to if you’d told us he would be there.” Adrien scowled, before he realized something. “You didn’t know, did you?”

“No, I’m pretty sure he did.” Hawkman shrugged. “This is really just his version of ‘hazing the rookie’.”

“Okay, then you’re just a jerk. Got it.” Adrien shrugged, laying back down.

“Carter, refresh my memory; you weren’t on monitor duty tonight, were you?”

“Uh- N-No, I had a date with Shiera.” This was rationally confusing questioning for the winged warrior.

“Then you don’t actually have any evidence that I knew Ra’s _was_ there. Which I didn’t. Neither did Dick.”

Marinette and Adrien were admittedly surprised; if Ra’s could slip by Batman and Nightwing unnoticed, then what would he have managed to do to them if he hadn’t halted their fight? “So… what exactly did he poison us with?”

Caitlin smiled at Marinette’s logical question and checked the readings on her smart-pad. “Concentrated form of Tibetan pit viper venom. Standard poison for the League of Assassins.”

“So is this why you wanted us to get the whole team their Miraculous?” asked Adrien.

“Ever since Ra’s and his followers broke out of Arkham a few years ago, every law enforcement agency on the planet has been stepping up their game; FBI, CIA, Interpol, ARGUS, everyone.” Bruce explained, removing his cowl. “He’s had trouble getting out of the US ever since his escape, so we’re still not sure how he made it to France, but we know one thing for sure; now that he’s in Paris and based on your own testimony of his actions, we know there’s only one person he’d blackmail to allow him and his daughters to room with him.”

“Hawk Moth.” Marinette concluded. “That’s why he Akumatized Chloé; he wanted to give Ra’s’ agent a distraction so he could attack our master.”

“With Ra’s and his daughters in Paris, we can’t risk letting you two stay there for too long or he might figure out who you are.”

Plagg scoffed at Bruce’s commentary. “Oh please. No one in Paris has managed to figure out who these guys are under the mask since Stoneheart. What makes you think this Ra’s guy can do it?”

“Because he knows who _I_ am.” The blunt tone he used to say that was terrifying. “Me _and_ Oliver.”

“So… you want us and the others out of Paris to make sure we won’t get hurt. Got it.” Adrien nodded.

That reminded Marinette. “Wait, what about Master Fu? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. As soon as you told me about the scene at his apartment, I told Oracle to have him moved to STAR Labs Marseilles.” Bruce nodded. “As soon as he’s strong enough, he’ll serve as your team-mentor.”

“Understood.” Adrien nodded. “And while we’re bringing the others into the fold, we’ll keep our eyes open for Ra’s.”

“I would expect nothing less.” Bruce nodded, as a signal for the two heroes to leave. But before they made it out the door… “Oh by the way, after Fu was transferred, I managed to ask him about those wings Marinette sprouted.”

That seriously piqued Mari’s interest. “Really? What did he say?”

“He said it was a sign that your skill with the Miraculous was ‘evolving’.” Bruce quoted, putting his cowl back on. “In fact, given enough time and training, you’ll be able to use your special powers without worrying about the time-limit.”

That seriously intrigued the two as they looked at each other. “Just like Bunnyx.” Unfortunately, Adrien’s whispers were just loud enough to barely be registered by Batman _and_ Hawkman.

“Who?”

“Uh, nothing. Just… discussing how that must’ve allowed… past Miraculous holders to be so powerful.” Adrien was impressed; Marinette had seemingly improved at coming up with cover-stories like this.

Batman’s eyes narrowed a bit, but he shrugged. “Must be. Now go get home.”

“Yes sir.” Adrien nodded, leading the way as he and his lady made their way to the Zeta Tube.

Once they were gone, Hawkman looked straight at Batman and Caitlin. “They're hiding something.”

“Obviously.” Batman nodded. “But I suggest we let them deal with it themselves. We’ll figure out what they’re hiding soon.”

After they were sent back to Paris, it was a simple parkour routine to make it home for the two heroes… and to find out that Chloé had followed the two and seen Nyssa poison them both. Understandably terrified, she had texted them out of fear for their well-being and was clearly greatly relieved when they both replied.

Adrien gave a small chuckle as he walked out to the dining room, where he found his father in the doorway… smiling? He could barely remember the last time he saw his father smile. “What’s going on, Father?”

“Ah Adrien. Excellent timing; I was just about to send Nathalie to get you.”

“Why, was there some sort of change to my schedule?”

“Not exactly. I just wanted to introduce you to someone. Come in, come in.” Adrien was still confused about several things, but shrugged and followed him into the dining room… which from his perspective was a huge mistake. “Adrien, this is Henri Ducard and his daughters Miranda and Sandra.” Adrien knew better however and knew their names were the al Ghul clan; Ra’s, Talia and Nyssa… the ones who almost killed him and Ladybug earlier. “They’re old friends of mine from before you were born.”

“Nice to meet you.” Adrien nodded. “Well uh, I’d love to stick around and get to know you but unfortunately, I still have homework to finish before tomorrow. You understand.”

“Perfectly.” “Ducard” replied. “Far be it from me to get in the way of your studies.”

Adrien nodded and swiftly slipped out back to his room… where he quickly called Marinette. Unfortunately, she didn't pick up so he had to leave a voicemail. “Sorry to bother you My Lady, but we have a massive problem.”


	25. Early Morning Planning

Early Tuesday morning was definitely on Marinette’s list of things in her life she hated… though she could probably say that about any early morning, and today was especially different as it was the day she would start her morning workout routine with the boy of her dreams; Adrien Agreste. She had gone to sleep early last night to be rested for this, so she was honestly very surprised to see a voicemail he left on her cell phone last night.

It didn’t take her long to turn it on and listen to it; “ _Sorry to bother you My Lady, but we have a massive problem; one I can’t discuss over the phone. I’ll explain at our work-out session._ ”

“That’s strange.” Marinette’s aloud thought roused Tikki from her sleep on her master’s pillow. “What can’t he tell me over the phone?”

“Maybe he’s just worried about his father listening in,” Marinette smirked at her Kwami’s reasoning… though it quickly degraded. Sure; she wouldn’t let either of her parents listen in on her phone calls, but even then at least she would get some sort of message across.

She shrugged and figured she’d understand when they met up outside the school in… 5 minutes?! “Oh, crud!” Quickly, she scrambled around her room to get dressed in some simple pink athletic wear, pack a quick athletic bag with her usual clothes (along with her usual school-bag and Kwami-hiding purse), get a quick breakfast and dash out to the school just as Adrien arrived wearing bright green. “Whew! S-Sorry I’m late Adrien.”

“It’s fine.” Adrien smiled. “Honestly, I’m… a little over everything being so rigidly scheduled.”

That prompted Marinette to remember the voicemail and get serious. “So, what’s our ‘massive problem’?”

“Huh? O-Oh right.” Adrien remembered but tried to brush it off. “We can worry about that later. Meantime, I’ve already booked some before-school time in the athletic wing. What do you want to do first; weights, running? What’s your poison?”

Marinette walked out in front of him as he tried to escape and blocked him. “Adrien… I haven’t told anyone outside the Watchtower either of our secret identities and I know you haven’t either. You can trust me.”

Adrien almost couldn’t say anything, but he took a deep breath and looked Marinette straight in the eye. “You remember how Batman theorized Ra’s might end up bunking with Hawk Moth now that he’s here?”

“Yeah, why?” As soon as she asked that, it hit her. “Wait, you saw him?” Adrien nodded. “Where?”

Adrien shook his head and his breath shuddered. “I- I still can’t believe he’d do this.”

“Who?” Then it struck her and her eyes shrank to the size of pin-points as she covered her mouth in terror. “Oh my god. Adrien… he’s with your father?” At this point, Adrien just dropped to his knees and started quietly weeping. Marinette dipped down to his side and hugged him to try and ease his pain. “Shh-shshshsh. It’s okay kitty; Bugaboo’s here. Just let it out.”

“I- I just- I don’t understand. Why? Why would he do this?”

Marinette remembered something there; something Master Fu told her after they defeated Max’s robot Markov when he was Akumatized. “Master Fu told me about this once; if anyone gets their hands on both of _our_ Miraculouses, they could use a certain invocation to grant any wish they wanted.”

Adrien chuckled weakly. “A wish? Huh. What could he want to wish for; power? Money? As if his job enslaving me to his whim hasn’t already given him that.”

Marinette let her face fall at that but she shrugged. “Well, whatever he wants, he’ll have to take it from someone else.” Adrien’s face twisted into intrigue at that. “Master Fu said that for every wish granted, the subject of the wish must be taken away from someone else.”

Adrien was greatly interested. “Well, if that’s the case, I doubt anyone told my father about that part.” That suddenly brought something to mind as he cleaned his face and stood. “Come to think of it, where did he find out about our Miraculous in the first place?”

“Well, there _was_ that spellbook you found.” Marinette shrugged. “Maybe he got it from that.”

“Maybe.” Then he checked his watch and jumped a bit. “Oh boy. We’d better get to the gym. I doubt Principal Damocles won't allow it to be open for long, even for us.”

Marinette giggled a bit. “Yeah, let’s go.” Not much more of an argument there as the two quickly left for the school exercise room; not as romantic or (no way around it) sexy as Marinette had been expecting, but she would accept it. They worked out for the full hour they were there, doing a little bit of everything the room had to offer before they left for the appropriate locker-rooms to shower, change and get ready for the day. Once they were done, they sat on the stairs to study for the upcoming physics test.

After a while, Marinette noticed Adrien starting to doze off and grew a bit worried. “You okay?”

“Uh y-yeah, just- I just didn’t get a lot of sleep.” Adrien shrugged. “Kinda hard to when world-infamous terrorists are sleeping under the same roof as me.”

Marinette blushed a bit as she knew this might come back to bite her, but she scooched a bit back in her seated position to flatten out her thighs as best she could. “Well… f-feel free to get some quick rest.”

Adrien was confused about what she meant by that… until he remembered his anime-binging habit. And this trope in several separate shows. “W-Well, if… if My Lady insists.” With that, he scooched back as well and laid his head down on her lap, smiling at the cool feeling of her thighs through her pants.

Marinette could _feel_ her face turning as red as a tomato as she looked down at him in what felt like abject terror… though it gradually subsided as she realized something; he’d straight-up fallen asleep on her lap, with his face turned up to hers. “ _Wow. He’s actually really cute like this._ ” She couldn’t help herself as she started gently stroking his hair, marveling at the scratchy but soft feel of it in her hand.

That was when she noticed Alya, Nino, Kagami, and the Coufainnes had arrived early and were staring at the two with knowing smirks. As per usual, Alya was the first to pull out her phone and take a picture. “Man, the school-blog is gonna go _nuclear_ when they see this.”

“This is such a cliché, but I love it.” Kagami smiled. All five of them ended up having to suppress their laughter as they saw Marinette visibly struggling to figure out what to do, as she couldn’t move at risk of waking Adrien up.

“Hey careful guys, I think he’s waking up.” Luka was right; all the barely stifled snickers had roused him from the little nap he was enjoying on his new basically girlfriend’s lap.

As soon as he woke up, his eyes shot open as he realized the gravity of this situation. “Uh- Ho- Hold on guys, I-” Unfortunately, his jumping at this attention meant he accidentally collided foreheads with Marinette, making them both cringe. “Ah- Ow! Oh jeez, sorry, Mari!”

“Mm, it’s- it’s fine.” It clearly wasn’t judging from the small bruise forming on her forehead, but Adrien didn’t push it as it would ruin the trope the two were playing into.

“Dude, you don’t just _not_ tell your bro you’re datin’ someone like this,” Nino said seriously, pulling him up. “It’s one of the central rules of bro-code!”

“I… don’t think that’s true.” Admittedly Luka didn’t have a very good understanding of bro-code, but he _was_ pretty sure he was right.

“Who cares?! Did you guys _see_ how adorable that was?” Alya yelled.

“Really Alya, it was nothing. I was just tired, that’s all.” Adrien shrugged.

“Sure Agreste, sure. Just be thankful Chloé isn’t here to see this; she’d probably kill you both.”

Marinette scoffed as she stood up and brushed off her pants. “Relax Alya, we’ve buried the hatchet with her. It’s all good.”

That seriously surprised Alya as she got all up in her face. “Alright, who are you and what have you done with Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

Marinette just narrowed her eyes in an unamused manner. “The Voicemail.” That made Alya jump as she glanced between her and Adrien in fear.

“Pfft. Relax; she told me about that like three days ago.” Adrien smirked. “Honestly kinda hilarious in retrospect.” He leaned into Alya and whispered this next bit; “She’s kind of a hot mess.”

“I heard that!” Adrien just chuckled as he looped an arm around her waist and slipped into the building.

“Au revoir!” Marinette was still blushing as they made it to class and sat down next to each other… only for Adrien to see her scowling at him, which he returned with a smirk. “Guess Bunnyx was right; we _are_ all over the place.”

Marinette just kept scowling. “‘Hot mess’? Really?”

Adrien raised an eyebrow and smirked broader. “Emphasis on ‘hot’, you understand.”

“Want me to get her some ice then?” Adrien chuckled as he turned to the mayor’s daughter’s reply to his joke; he was pleased to know Chloé was on their side now.

Even Marinette cracked a smile as she waved them down. “Alright, alright; knock it off.” With that, she got serious and handed forward a cut-and-paste list of pictures of their classmates, connected to pictures of the other Miraculouses she’d taken last night. “Now listen; Adrien and I have run our evidence past our… contacts and they’ve told us that Master Fu was attacked by the League of Assassins.” It was obvious Chloé knew who those were, judging from the expression on her face. “Yeah. That’s what happened to us last night. Anyway, our contact also told us that we have to give the Miraculouses to our other six partners full-time. Once we let him know, he’ll handle the rest.”

“Alright, so let’s see who’s who.” Once Adrien and Chloé both laid eyes on the list, they were understandably surprised. “Wait-wait-wait, Nino is-?” Quickly, he shut up and slipped the list into Marinette’s lap as he saw the rest of the class coming in. Chloé quickly caught on and slipped over to her seat as the whole class trickled in.


	26. Land of the Sea

It seemed like the day was going normally (well, as normal as possible in Paris nowadays) when, while taking a step down on the stairs outside for lunch with the others, Max’s foot let out a small splash.

“What the-?” He was understandably confused until he looked out past the school and saw the streets of Paris were flooding.

“Oh, crud. Kim, you didn’t make Ondine sad again, did you?” asked Ivan.

“What? No!”

“Well, _something’s_ flooding the city.” Alya reasoned. “And whatever it is, it’s obviously superhero bait!” She wasn’t wrong; Marinette (carrying a small bag and her list from earlier), Adrien and Chloé slipped out of the way less than three seconds after she said that, where they all grouped up in a secluded corner, not covered by security cameras.

“Let’s make this quick; I doubt our absence will go unnoticed for long.” Adrien reasoned. The girls agreed and after they all transformed, they raced out over the town to the Eiffel Tower to try and see what was happening.

And thankfully Chat’s sharp feline eyes caught it in a second. “Down there!” The girls looked and saw that the Seine River was overflowing somehow.

“Woof. Note to self; get a car that doesn’t pollute so much.” Queen Bee noted.

“I don’t think this is global warming, Bee.” Ladybug was staring down at the road next to the river. “Look.”

The other two looked and saw a large man in purple armor with a silver finned helmet and a large silver trident on the edges of the flood. “Hey, I think I recognize that guy. He’s Atlantean; calls himself Ocean Master or something.”

“Well, what’s he doing so far from the ocean then?” Queen Bee’s question was legitimate, and Chat didn’t like the answer he saw.

“I don’t know, but it looks like he didn’t come alone.” And indeed, strange inhuman silhouettes were swimming up the river from the east. Thousands of them. And as soon as one of them breached the surface, the three heroes and the civilians nearby were all terrified; they were some sort of human-fish hybrids, but about twelve-times more terrifying than a normal Atlantean, and they screeched inhumanly, scaring away all the civilians.

“We’re definitely gonna need back-up for this one.” Ladybug resolved and turned on her earpiece. “Paris to Watchtower; we have a massive problem at the Seine.”

“ _I noticed._ ” J’onn was on terminal duty again today. Jeez, did that guy ever leave the Watchtower? “ _It would seem as though Orm wishes to send France to the depths. But what doesn’t make sense is how can the Trenchers be on the surface?_ ”

“‘Trenchers’?” asked Chat, switching his earpiece to speaker-mode. “Wait, you know what these things are?”

“ _Monstrous denizens of Meropis; one of the seven kingdoms of Atlantis, and the most devastated when the Atlantean Empire sank._ ” Ladybug recognized that voice as Wonder Girl. She wasn’t sure she’d ever heard Cassie speak so grimly before. Then again, she and Chat had only _met_ the young demigoddess about two weeks ago. “ _The people there were right at the center of Atlantis when the calamity that sank it struck._ ” Admittedly, that made Ladybug glance at Chat’s ring because if Master Fu was right, Plagg had something to do with that. “ _The city-center sank into a chasm off the coast of China and the Atlantean magic that protected them was corrupted and mutated them into feral beasts that shun the light._ ”

“Shun the light? Then wait, J’onn’s right; how can these things be on the surface?” asked Ladybug.

Queen Bee looked off in one direction and was terrified. “I think I have an idea.” Everyone looked to where she was pointing and saw a woman with bright purple hair wearing purple and gold armor floating down toward Ocean Master.

“ _Circe,_ ” Cassie growled. “ _That explains it; she must’ve used her magic to free the Trenchers of their weakness. Stand by; I’ll go get Wonder Woman and we’ll be right with you. One of you should go to Atlantis and call in Aquaman. As for the other two of you, watch out; Circe’s-_ ”

“I know; I’ve read _The Odyssey_.” Chat nodded. “We’ll stand by. Paris out.” With that, he terminated his connection and looked at Ladybug with a smirk. “We’re not just going to stand by, are we?”

“Heck no.” Ladybug nodded, handing the two her list and bag, which clearly contained the other Miraculous boxes. “You two are going back to the school to get more back-up just in case. I’m going to Atlantis and getting Aquaman.”

“We’re bringing in the whole team already?” Chat asked in concern.

“We might need them.” With that, she smirked as her wings spread and she took off from the observation deck, hovering a small height off the ground.

Chat couldn’t help it and slipped forward to give his Bugaboo a quick kiss before she left. “Good luck, My Lady.”

“Thanks, Chat. I might need it.” With that, she shot out over the river to the west towards Atlantis.

Chat took a deep breath as he glanced at Queen Bee and held up his hand with a smirk on his face. Chloé smirked right back at him and clapped her hand with his. “Don’t get killed.” she nodded.

“Not on your life.” With that, the two quickly started running toward the school along the rooftops.

Ocean Master was understandably loving his conquest of this grand city but growled when he saw the two heroes on the rooftops. “You two there! Kill them!” Two Trenchers screeched and quickly climbed up the building walls and charged after the two heroes. Naturally, they were terrified about this until a familiar blur of red and blue shot down from the sky and sent them both flying back to the river before they splashed down.

When the smoke of her landing parted, the blur was revealed to be Wonder Woman… with a rather sour expression on her face. “Let’s make this quick, okay Circe? I’ve got to meet up with my family in an hour.”

“Oh don’t worry Diana.” Circe smiled as she flew up to her, magic flowing around her hands. “I’ll be sure you meet up in time. In the Underworld!” A massive bolt flew at the Amazon princess, but she just knocked it away with her mystic broadsword.

“Well alright, I guess we’re doing _this_ now!” With that, she shot forward and bashed Circe a good distance away before she flew after her.

Suddenly Wonder Girl flew in near the other two heroes, sword drawn as well. “Go! We’ll hold them off! FOR HERA!” With that, she dove in and started slashing and bashing Trenchers left and right.

Chat marveled at this for a moment before he quickly joined Queen Bee in racing along the roofs again, praying Ladybug would be back with assistance soon.

As it happened, Ladybug had nearly made it to the sea until she ran out of steam over Normandy beach. She got her breath back within a few seconds and switched to her Aqua Form (surprised she still had her wings) which she used to quickly swim toward where she had once read Atlantis was located… as written by Plato, which was unfortunately very wrong… though she _did_ encounter an Atlantean-seeming ship. “Hey! Hello?! Can you help me?”

Unfortunately, the welcome wagon she was greeted with was a bit less than hospitable as several soldiers swam out with plasma rifles trained on her. “State your business, surface-dweller.” one of them barked.

“Statheíte, óloi sas.” Ladybug was honestly surprised to see a young dark-skinned man with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes wearing black and maroon armor. “Paratiríste to éndyma tis; eínai sýmmachos tis Atlantídas.” (Translation: “Stand down, all of you. Observe her garb; she is an ally of Atlantis.”)

The soldiers’ leader was confused, but abided by the man’s order and lowered his weapon. “Me tin parangelía sou, Kaldur’ahm.” The others quickly followed his lead and left. (Translation: “By your order, Kaldur’ahm.”)

“My apologies for my soldiers’ behavior, friend Ladybug.” the young man apologized. “We were simply not expecting any sort of intrusion.”

“I understand uh, Kaldur’ahm?” She butchered the pronunciation, but Kaldur just chuckled.

“Please do not trouble yourself with titles. ‘ _Ahm_ ’ is simply Atlantean for ‘Sworn to the Throne’.” Kaldur waved his webbed hand at her as he led her to the bridge of the ship. “Though to surface-dwellers, I am known as Aqualad.”

“Aqualad?” Ladybug _thought_ she recognized him from somewhere, and thus knew he could help her. “Can you help me get in touch with your king? There’s a massive problem in Paris.”

“Easily done.” He turned to an officer on the bridge. “Epikoinoníes, epikoinoníste me ton Amnistía. O episképtis epithymeí na milísei me ton Vasiliá.” (Translation: “Communications, contact the Amnesty Bay Lighthouse. Our guest wishes to speak with the King.”)

“Nai Kaldur’ahm.” the officer replied (Translation: "Yes, Kaldur'ahm"), bringing up a display of a surface lighthouse where the powerful king, now dressed as some sort of sailor, was playing on a sofa with his teenage son and red-headed wife.

“ _Huh? Oh, Kaldur._ ” The king seemed surprised to hear from him. “ _Is it time for your report already?_ ”

“Not yet my king, but we do have a guest on our ship who wishes to speak with you.” He swam a bit to the side and allowed Ladybug to take center-stage.

“ _Ladybug? What’re you doing on one of my father’s ships?_ ” Ladybug recognized the woman with the king as Queen Mera, so she tried her best to be courteous.

“I apologize, ma Reine, but… Ocean Master and Circe have invaded Paris… with Trenchers.” That was more than enough to terrify everyone who heard that.

But the king quickly grew serious, shedding his sailor’s garb to don his royal vestments. “ _Kaldur’ahm, rally the Atlantean Knights and order them down the Seine. Mera and I will meet you in Paris._ ”

“Yes, my king.” Kaldur quickly pressed a button on his wrist, before he turned to Ladybug with a serious expression on his face. “Lead the way.”

“As you wish.” With that, she and the soldier quickly shot out of the ship and swam full-tilt to the Seine River.

Once they reached its mouth, Ladybug jumped out of the water and dropped her water form, reverting to her standard suit before she flew as fast as she could to Paris. She wasn’t sure what she would see once they all arrived, but she was confident it would be a good metric for the power of the military of Atlantis.


	27. Back-Up

With their Amazon friends watching their backs at the Seine, Chat Noir and Queen Bee made it back to the school to find that one Trencher had gotten away from the main pack and made it before them, screeching at the class on the stairs. Ivan and Kagami were trying to keep it back; Ivan growling back at it to try and intimidate it and Kagami pointing her red-hilted fencing foil at it to keep it at bay.

Chat smiled as he leaped down and drop-kicked it in the face before he hit it with his staff up to Queen Bee, who tied it up in her top-string before she tossed it back to the river. “Back to the pit from whence you came, monster!”

“Chloé?” asked Alya. “Since when were you back on the job?”

“Since Ocean Master and Circe started invading Paris.” Chat explained. “I’ll give you guys a full disclosure later. Right now, you have to get inside where it’s safe.” The class couldn’t argue with that as they left… or at least that’s what most of them did. The others (Alya, Nino, Luka, Kim, Max, and Kagami) stuck around for a second before all fleeing in different directions until Chloé cut them off with her top. They were confused until they saw Chat smirking. “Relax guys, we know you’re all heroes too. And we need all the help we can get.”

The others looked around in confusion and worry as someone had obviously exposed their secret identities, but Chat just smirked as he looked at Kagami who still seemed to maintain her calm visage despite the concern obvious in her eyes. “Don’t worry. Just because I’m hiring _you_ doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about our rematch.”

That amazed her as she looked straight at him. “Adrien?”

“ADRIEN?!” Alya exploded in shock, surprising all the others as well.

“Is she recording?” Chat asked. Nino checked and shook his head. “Okay cool; now listen, as I said, we need all hands on deck. Everyone put on your Miraculous and let’s get out there.” With that, he opened the bag and handed out the boxes to his partners who all donned their Miraculouses with smirks.

“Wayzz, Shell On!” Nino.  
“Trixx, Let’s Pounce!” Alya.  
“Longg, Bring the Storm!” Kagami.  
“Sass, Scales Slither!” Luka.  
“Kaalki, Full Gallop!” Max.  
“Xuppu, Showtime!” Kim.

Once they all said their phrases, they all glowed in bright light as they transformed, abandoning their real names for now in favor of their respective hero-aliases; Carapace, Rena Rouge, Ryuko, Viperion, Pegasus, and King Monkey. “Alright team, let’s make a Miracle!” With that, Chat jumped away and all the others quickly ran after him.

“‘Let’s make a Miracle’?” Carapace was basically asking what everyone else was. “Seriously? How long have you been workshopping that, dude?”

Chat shrugged as he ran. “Actually I just came up with it on the spot. I thought it would be cool for us to have a team rallying cry, y’know?” The others couldn’t argue with that as they arrived at the river.

“Where’s Ladybug?” asked Viperion as they all sat tight.

“Better question; _who’s_ Ladybug?” Pegasus’ question was fair, and it got Rena thinking.

“Well, if Adrien is Chat then maybe-” Suddenly it struck her. “No. Way.”

“Yep.” Chat smirked as he watched the eastern end of the river. “My Lady is Marinette.” Then he saw a familiar blur of red approaching over the river. “And speaking of whom…” Indeed Ladybug had just returned and quickly buzzed over to where they were hiding, letting Chat catch her in a hug. “Nice timing, My Lady.”

“Same to you Chaton.” she smiled, looking at the others gathered. “I assume you’ve told them who we all are.”

“Not exactly hard not to.” Rena smiled. “But I gotta say, this does answer a lot of questions I’ve had about you for a while, Mari.”

Ladybug smirked; same old Alya, even under the mask. “Well, let’s get in there.” Once Viperion activated Second Chance, the heroes dove in, roaring as they slashed their way through the hordes of Trenchers until Ladybug was next to Wonder Girl, who surprised her. “Cassie? When did you get here?”

“Bout five minutes ago. But I’d rather make this quick; as Diana told Circe, she has to meet her family for something later.” she shrugged. “Where’s Orin?”

“Oh, he’s on his way.” And indeed, just as she said that a massive splash resounded from the river and the king landed on the bank, alongside Mera, Aqualad, and a young Caucasian man with black hair and tattoos.

“ORRRMM!” Aquaman’s bellow was enough to shake everyone there to their cores, including Ocean Master himself, who glanced at the king. “You dare violate the sovereignty of the surface-world _again_?!”

“The surface world betrayed Atlantis, bastard-king!” Ladybug was confused about this, but decided she would press it later. “The Trenchers know that better than anyone; they wished for vengeance and Circe and I are giving it to them. And now that you’re here, I will take back what is rightfully mine!”

Aquaman rolled his eyes as Orm charged him, clashing tridents with the king. Ladybug glanced at Cassie with a telling look in her eye. “Aquaman’s half-human, Orm’s pure Atlantean. He thinks the throne of Atlantis is his by birthright, so he’s been trying to reclaim it every chance he gets.”

“Points for persistence, I guess,” Viperion smirked as he slid over next to her and punched one Trencher into the river. “Hey. Viperion.”

“Wonder Girl. Now focus; we have to find some way to route Orm’s army.” She nodded.

“I think I have an idea about that actually.” Ladybug said thoughtfully. “Maybe if I use my Miraculous Ladybug, whatever magic Circe used will be nullified.”

“Perhaps as a last resort, we can do that but for now, we need something more immediate.” nodded Aqualad.

“I’m on it!” King Monkey quickly jumped up and got an immediate bead on Circe, still dueling Wonder Woman. “Uproar!” Once his power activated, the item that formed in his hand was a fish plushie which he quickly tossed at Circe, hitting her in the face.

She glanced at it, and then looked back at him with a look of pure dismay in her eyes. “Are you serious?”

“Not at all. What can I say? King Monkey loves to party.” Circe clearly didn’t like this as she charged up a bolt of magic in her hand, but once it was fired, it released confetti and made a fun party sound.

“What?! What have you done to me?!” The others all quickly got in on what Monkey was doing, so they all grabbed random stuff from around the area and started throwing it at Circe, first it was Carapace’s shield. “You dare to strike-?” Then it was Queen Bee tossing a table from a nearby café. “OW! You dare to strike-?” Then Viperion threw the table-cover over her face, which she quickly pulled off. “Oof! Quit it!” Then she saw something else. “Oh no.” Out of nowhere, a grand piano flew in and hit her full-on in the face, sending her to the ground.

Ladybug looked where it came from and saw Chat brushing off his hands with a smirk on his face. He saw the expression on her face and shrugged. “What? That’s a classic.”

“I mean… he’s not wrong…” Ryuko shrugged. “Let’s just make this quick. Lightning Dragon!” As soon as she yelled this, the lightning-bolt symbol on her suit and sword flashed and she turned into a living lightning bolt that quickly shot toward Orm’s helmet. Aquaman saw this coming and slipped back to allow the young hero to connect, electrocuting Ocean Master and leaving him extra crispy before she reformed her physical body next to him once done, she slashed across the back of his leg with her sword, forcing him to his knees in front of Aquaman, who pointed his own trident at his throat.

“Yield, Orm, and I may show you mercy.”

Orm groaned, still crispy from the electrocution but raised his hands. “Very well. I yield.” With that, Aqualad shackled his king’s treasonous brother and moved him to the river. “But you’re too late anyway; the Trenchers will soon lay waste to this city and then the whole country will rightfully belong to Atlantis.”

“Not without this, they won’t.” Ladybug smirked, holding up a nautilus shell she retrieved from Circe’s hand with a pair of ladybug-print tongs (clearly her use of Lucky Charm). “Chat, heads-up!”

“Cataclysm!” Once the shell touched Chat’s hand, it shattered and the magic from within faded, causing the Trenchers nearby to screech in agony and run back to the river, swimming back west as fast as they could.

Once they were gone, Ladybug smiled as she looked up. “Miraculous Ladybug!” She tossed her tongs up and as the sparkles spread, all the damage Orm’s attack had caused quickly faded, even removing the piano from Circe, though Queen Bee quickly stung the villainess with her Venom and paralyzed her.

“Pound it!” all the Miraculous heroes smiled as they bumped fists before Wonder Woman walked forward.

“So… this is the whole team, huh?” she asked.

“Yep. Now it’s all on you.” Ladybug nodded, handing the princess the list, now complete with names of everyone on the team.

Diana nodded and turned on her earpiece. “They’re ready Batman.” With that said, she turned back to the team and started hovering away. “Well, see you guys around.” With that, the Amazons carried the paralyzed Circe away as the Atlanteans picked up Orm and swam him away to the east.

Ryuko cleared her throat; she knew she would have to be the one to say it. “I suppose now is the part where we give you back our Miraculouses.”

Ladybug smiled. “Not even close.” This confused the others for a moment. “You’re permanent additions to the team now. Now let’s all swear to keep Paris safe.”

The others were happily amazed at this news but agreed to keep their identities secret and their devotion to the mission true.

Unfortunately, Ra’s was still growling over Orm’s failure broadcast over the news as Gabriel chuckled. “And you blamed _me_ for Bourgeois’ failure. At least _I_ only gave them one new permanent ally. Your friends gave them a whole team.”

“Bite your tongue, Agreste!” Nyssa growled. “No man speaks to the great Ra’s al Ghul like that and lives!”

“Peace Nyssa.” Ra’s ordered. “I accept this blame. However, I submit an argument of my own; I believe I saw Wonder Woman tell Batman ‘they’re ready’.” He turned to Gabriel with a smile. “There could only be one thing she is referring to.”

“You mean the Justice League is recruiting them? Great. As if I didn’t have enough problems.”

“Indeed, but this presents an interesting opportunity. If you keep your eyes open for people of their size being given something strange such as, say, a scholarship at an overseas academy, you’ll know who they really are.” Gabriel smiled.

“And I can take their Miraculous from them in their civilian forms. I like the way you think, Ra’s.”

“Indeed. And when you do that, your wife will be cured; I can assure you of that.” Gabriel still knew Ra’s was probably lying about that, but he didn’t have any choice. He only hoped that once he pulled it off, he could fight off his forces.

Suddenly Nathalie walked in, tablet in her hand. “She’s here sir. She’s waiting for you in the attic.”

Gabriel smiled. “Excellent. Come along Ra’s, I’d like to introduce you to a willing ally of mine.” Ra’s and his daughters would be lying if they said they hadn’t been intrigued by this news. Gabriel quickly transformed and led hem up to the villain’s attic hideout.

“Hello, Hawk Moth. I heard you’re looking for a student.”

“You heard right.” The villain smiled as he walked forward, assassins next to him. “But first, I’d like to introduce you to my allies. This is Ra’s al Ghul and his daughters; Talia and Nyssa.” The girl walked forward, surprising the assassins with who it was. “And this is my most willing ally and soldier.”

“Good to meet you,” she said. “I’m Lila Rossi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BUM BUM BUMMMM- Dramatic Reverb!


	28. The Rest

Adrien hated being in his house, more now than ever; he still couldn’t believe his father had been the villain who’d tried to kill him and Marinette for almost three years. And what obviously made it worse was that he’d allied himself with globally wanted assassins. He and Plagg could only hope that whatever Batman had in mind would work to get him out of this house.

Thankfully, as he was browsing the internet with Plagg chowing down on cheese, he received the confirmation of that when he heard a knock at the door. Quickly, Plagg hid as Adrien stood up. “Come in.” It was hardly a leap but he was happy to see Nathalie enter his room… until he thought about something else; Mayura’s secret identity had still been unaccounted for, so Adrien quickly devised a theory, especially based on recent events. Still, he kept a stable expression as she stepped over.

“Sorry for intruding Adrien, but this just came for you in the mail.” Adrien was surprised by the envelope she handed him; the stationary bore the insignia of Wayne Enterprises. And it was addressed especially for him.

“Bruce Wayne is sending _me_ mail?” He was right to be surprised. “He hasn’t spoken to Father since…”

He didn’t have to say anything; Nathalie knew what he meant. “Yes, I know. Well, if the surprise visit from Mr. Queen’s cousin is any indication, I’d say some of your father’s old friends are resuming past connections.”

Adrien shrugged; he didn’t exactly believe that, but he figured he might as well keep up appearances. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’d like to read this in private.”

“Of course.” With that, Nathalie left and allowed Adrien and Plagg all the privacy they needed. Once gone, Adrien retrieved a simple letter-opener and slashed open the envelope.

He and Plagg were quite reasonably surprised by what the note read after the usual business header; “ _Dear Mr. Agreste, I am pleased to inform you that, thanks to the Wayne Foundation’s Gifted Youths program, you have been officially nominated for a special Martha Wayne Scholarship to Titans Academy for the Gifted in Jump City, California. Please meet at the Grand Hôtel du Palais Royal on November 24 th at 8:30 PM exactly, where the scholarship decisions will be finalized and, with luck, you will be one of the official few that are selected for this scholarly honor. Yours etc., Lucius Fox; President and CEO of Wayne Enterprises._”

Adrien was surprised; he figured Bruce held the reins of his own company. But then again, it would make it pretty easy to tell who Batman was if the president of a company was always late and exhausted at every meeting. Shrugging, he checked his computer’s clock and was frightened to discover that _today_ was November 24th and it was 8:00 PM, meaning he had half an hour to get across town… without arousing suspicion. “Whew, yeah this isn’t gonna be easy.”

“Not for Adrien,” Plagg argued. “But for Chat Noir…”

Adrien shook his head. “No, if I disappear after I get this letter, Nathalie and my father will know something’s up.”

“Well, this is new. Normally you’d jump at the chance to do this.” Plagg was surprised.

“Yeah that was before I found out my father and his assistant were holding two Kwamis hostage,” Adrien growled before he started thinking. “It doesn’t make any sense; how did my father get a hold of their Miraculouses?”

“Well, however it happened, I’m sure we’ll figure it out.” Adrien nodded; annoying though Plagg may have been, he was pretty smart.

“Right. Okay, here’s the plan; I’ll have Nathalie drive us out to the hotel and _swear_ that she won’t tell my father why or what we’re doing tonight.” Adrien planned. “With luck, the others will have been selected for this ‘scholarship’ too.” Plagg nodded at that and quickly flew into a simple blazer’s pocket. Adrien quickly buttoned his shirt, rolled down his sleeves and threw this blazer on before he tuned the intercom in his room to Nathalie’s office. “Nathalie, can you come to my room please?”

“ _I’ll be right there._ ” It took her a few moments and she was surprised when she found him dressed like this. She smiled. “Don’t tell me; you have a date?”

Adrien smirked. “Something like that. This letter from Mr. Wayne told me to meet him at the Grand Hôtel. I was wondering if you could give me a ride.”

“Of course. But why not just have your bodyguard drive you?”

Adrien chuckled. “I already got him in enough trouble with my father for going to meet Oliver Queen earlier this week. Plus, I uh… I guess I just trust you more than him.”

Nathalie smiled. “Understood. I’ll bring the car around.”

Adrien nodded. “Thank you.” It was actually a pretty quick drive from his house to the hotel (though he was admittedly rather a bit late), where he found the party was on the roof. This surprised him a bit, but he wasn’t very surprised to find the others waiting for him near the buffet table, all in semi-formal wear. What he _was_ surprised by was that Kim was wearing a red headband, clearly to hide his Miraculous from prying eyes. “You guys too, huh?”

“I’ve heard rumors about Titans Academy. Apparently, it’s the headquarters for a Justice League sub-team, codenamed the Titans.” Figures Alya would know that.

“So wait, the Justice League is actually planning on hiring us?” Nino sounded insanely happy as he said this.

“Yes, but keep your voice down.” Adrien encouraged. “Secret identity, remember?” Suddenly, he saw someone he wasn’t expecting out of the corner of his eye. “Connor?”

And indeed, Conner Hawke was there that evening in a simple yet elegant suit, not far from the young man. “Ah, Adrien Agreste. It’s been too long.”

Adrien smiled as he shook hands with the young archer. “Only two days.”

“And already I found myself missing you.” His sight slipped over to the left, where he found his eyes locking on the young Japanese girl near him. “Ah, and who have we here?”

“Kagami Tsurugi.”

“Ah, konbanwa. Hajimemashite.” Naturally, the team was surprised to hear Connor speak in perfect Japanese (with a bit of an accent) and see him bow to her.

Kagami especially was visibly surprised but bowed back to show courtesy. “Eh, hai. Domo yoroshiku.”

“Dude, you speak Japanese?” Adrien asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Knowing what my father does for a living, is it really such a surprise?” Suddenly, he noticed something at the side of the room. “Speaking of whom… Hey Dad, look who made it.”

Everyone was incredibly surprised when Oliver Queen walked over with a champagne glass in his hand. “Ah, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng and company. I’m glad you guys could make it. It’s almost time for Bruce to name the scholarship recipients.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Bruce Wayne and Mr. Oliver Queen.” And indeed, Bruce had just walked up to the podium amidst a polite wave of applause.

“Speak of the devil. Scuse me, I’d better go help him.” With that, he downed his drink and quickly joined him at the podium before Bruce held up a hand to ask that everyone be quiet.

“Thank you. Before I was born, my parents built Wayne Enterprises; one of the most important companies on the planet with departments in everything; applied sciences, airlines, even record labels, and even going so far as to buy up the company of my very good friend here Oliver Queen for use as a subsidiary. This part I’m sure you know.” This statement was rewarded with a small chuckle from the crowd. “But what you may not have known is that my mother Martha created the Wayne Foundation; a subsidiary of the company itself which, for the past fifteen years, has had a Special Youths program where we offer specially-gifted teenaged men and women a chance to join a school established to better help them understand their…gifts. And yes, in some cases, that does involve training to ensure that those with metagenes can use them safely.” That got a bit of a laugh as well. “And tonight, we’re giving a select few here in Paris a special chance; in honor of my mother, the Wayne Foundation has created a new Martha Wayne Scholarship program, a handful of which we will distribute to a group of nine young men and women who the company board has deemed ‘worthy’ of having them.” With that, he started to step down from the podium. “Now, if we could all hold our applause until the end, Mr. Queen will call out those who earned the scholarships. If those he calls could please come forward when he does so, you’ll receive your print copy of the scholarship form itself. Oliver?”

“Thank you, Bruce.” Oliver quickly stepped up to the podium as Bruce stood off to the side and Oliver pulled out a handful of note-cards. “As stated, when I call your name, please step forward and take your paper. Then line up next to Bruce here. First up… Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Marinette was a bit embarrassed to be put on the spot like this, especially in front of her parents (though it looked like she had explained the situation to them), but she slipped forward through the crowd up to the stage and accepted the paper without much trouble. “Congratulations.” She smiled right back at Oliver as she shook his hand before she moved to stand next to Bruce. “Adrien Agreste.” Adrien could practically _hear_ the shock on Nathalie’s face as he went up and took his paper, but he did anyway before he stood next to Mari. “Alya Césaire.” Alya could hardly contain her excitement at this as she zipped up and claimed the paper before she slid into line. “Nino Lahiffe.” Nino just walked up and took it no questions asked before he stood in line. “Chloé Bourgeois.” Chloé could see the shock on her father’s face as she walked up, though admittedly she was a bit nervous at taking this; as Connor had said, Chloé’s family was scared of families like the Waynes and Queens because they held much more money and status than her’s, but she still accepted and shook Oliver’s hand before she moved to stand with Nino. “Luka Coufainne.” It was obvious from the hug he received from his mother and Juleka that Luka had already told them about the contents of the note, but he still smiled and walked up to claim his paper, shaking hands with Oliver before he lined up as well. “Max Kante.” Max was quite civil as he stood and took his note, standing hands behind his back next to Luka. “Lê Chiến Kim.” Kim knew that was in Eastern order, so he walked up and smiled as he snagged his paper, before taking Oliver’s hand in a tight grip and standing next to Max. “And last but certainly not least… Tsurugi Kagami.” Kagami bowed to her mother, who had apparently given her clearance to do this (which greatly surprised Marinette and Adrien given how strict they remembered the older woman being) before she walked up to Oliver and gave a small bow, which he returned before handing her the paper and shaking her hand. With that, she stepped next to Kim and stood rigid as a board as Bruce took the podium again.

“And there we have it, ladies and gentlemen.” Bruce smiled; something which Adrien had heard from Tim was almost physically impossible. “The latest round of Wayne Foundation Special Youths, all set to continue their curricular careers at Titans Academy in California. Let’s give ‘em all a hand!” The round of applause roared from the crowd as the candidates all waved.

Surprisingly, Adrien didn’t see Nathalie trying to slip away to tell his father about this, instead applauding him as well. This was odd since he figured his father (still hard to even _think_ that) would be keeping an eye out for this sort of thing, but amazingly no such thing was happening. He was confused as to why until he glanced up above him and saw something surprising; it was everyone’s hero personas leaping onto the side of the building and waving as if to see the students off on their journey. He was confused as to how this was possible until he looked out into the crowd and saw another familiar face; Zachary Zatara. Then it made sense; Zachary was using his magic to create illusory images of the heroes to clear them of suspicion of being the heroes themselves. “Man, you guys know how to plan ahead.”

“Can’t afford not to,” Oliver whispered back. “Not with supervillains watching us. Be ready; you’re leaving for Jump City tomorrow morning.”

“Understood.” Marinette knew she spoke for the whole team when she said that. But with what would soon arise, the team would need every ounce of ladybug-luck they could get. They just didn’t know it yet.


	29. Titans

The flight to Jump City was actually pretty easy, which surprised Adrien since, knowing his father, he would’ve set up some sort of ridiculous rule to try and keep Adrien in Paris, but there was no such thing; he and the others all just got on the plane, no questions asked. Of course, it wasn’t until the plane was over Colorado that he learned his father _had_ tried to email the airport and hold him back, but Barbara had hacked into the airport database and removed the email before anyone saw it, allowing the young model to board the aircraft with Bruce and Oliver.

Surprisingly Oliver had his own plane sent out to retrieve them, though they just took this as him being a good ally. It took a few hours, but finally, Oliver got up and clapped, waking up all the kids from the midflight nap they were enjoying. “Alright, guys, all out for Jump City!”

“Oh, are- are we landing?” asked Alya.

Oliver chuckled. “You are. Parachutes are under your seats.”

“Wait, parachutes?!” Luka was reasonably scared. “I thought the _plane_ was taking us to Jump City.”

“No-no, the plane lands in _Star_ City. _You guys_ land in _Jump_ City.”

Naturally, Chloé was terrified for her life as she and the others all strapped on the parachutes anyway. “Are you insane?!”

Oliver just rolled his eyes and led them all back to the cargo bay. “Relax; the League’s done this tons of times for covert ops.” Once in the cargo bay, Oliver quickly strapped an altimeter to each of the heroes’ wrists. “Just jump, and aim for the tower in the bay. Cyborg and Captain Marvel will be expecting you.” With that, he simply opened the cargo bay door, air flowing around the passengers like a mad maelstrom. “Happy landings!” They didn’t have much choice, but still, no one was willing to be the first to jump overboard. Finally, Marinette just took a deep breath and stepped off the cargo bay door, screaming as she fell. Adrien knew she would kill him if he didn’t follow, so he jumped as well with the others quickly following him.

Understandably the flight down was more than a bit traumatic, but once they finally did make it to the ground at the tower, they could barely stand straight as the two heroes Oliver mentioned walked out, both with disappointed expressions on their faces. “Leave it to Oliver to haze the rookies like this.” Cyborg groaned.

“No argument there.” Marvel walked forward to the weakened applicants. “You guys okay?” Unfortunately, this question was answered by Chloé throwing up on the pavement. “I’ll take that as a no.”

Adrien chuckled weakly as he stumbled around from vertigo. “Nice of you to wait until we landed.”

“Ugh, my pleasure.” It was hard to tell if she was being serious, but either way, at least they weren’t dead.

“Why didn’t I just use my power to bring us down here?” Admittedly Max’s question was reasonable… and surprising that Oliver didn’t just have him do that right off the bat.

“Why else do you think Oliver threw you out of a plane?” Cyborg just shrugged as he said this as if he was expecting an easy answer. “It’s one of the biggest lessons the League gives to their new recruits; if heroes rely too heavily on their powers, then they aren’t really powers. They’re crutches.”

“And you think the best way to emphasize that is to throw us out of a plane?” asked Alya.

Captain Marvel just shrugged. “That’s what they did when _I_ joined.”

“Anyways, glad to have you, new students.” Cyborg smiled. “I’m your new headmaster Victor Stone. And this is your new school and home; Titans Tower. Or as the outside world knows it, Titans Academy.” As everyone looked up, they were in awe of the amazing 8-story tower. “You guys are gonna love this place; it’s like… Candyland-squared for superheroes.”

“I am confused by what you mean, Victor.” Oh boy, this was gonna be embarrassing. “I am nearly certain the Tower is not this land of candy you are talking about.”

The kids were understandably confused by this sentence until they saw a familiar green-eyed girl with orange hair and skin. “They were gonna meet her at some point Victor; might as well have that be now and get it over with.”

Cyborg knew the Captain was right, but he still _really_ didn’t want to do this. “Whatever. Kids, this is Koriand’r from Tamaran, aka Starfire; she was in the original Titans class with me. You’ll have to excuse her; we’re still trying to explain the complexities of the English language to her.”

“Which is weird since she learns new languages by sucking face.” That single comment from Captain Marvel quickly made Kagami write “ _Off-Limits!!!_ ” in Japanese on a sticky note and slap it on Adrien’s chest.

“Nice move, girl.” Alya nodded.

“I got you, sisters.” Kagami didn’t move from her serious position but still high-fived Alya for what might possibly have been the greatest move in their stay at the tower.

“Well…” Victor cleared his throat. “How about we head up to the second floor? Pretty sure Gar’s gonna be waitin’ for you.”

“Who?” Kim was _so_ glad that awkwardness was over.

“Wait a sec, you don’t mean-?” Suddenly Alya’s question was answered by what looked like some sort of green crow flew down from the second floor with some sort of black and purple collar around its neck.

Suddenly, that crow transformed into some sort of green monkey boy who then landed on the ground near the newcomers, now wearing a black and purple bodysuit formed from the collar. “Whassup, my dudes?!”

As soon as he landed, Alya started freaking out in joy. “Oh my God, Garfield Logan! I can’t believe I get to hang out with you!”

“Ah-tut-tut-tut-tut-tut!” Victor quickly slipped in-between the two and stopped her. “Not hanging out with, Alya. Gar here’s the first-floor mentor, in charge of you first-year students.”

“Speaking of which, we should probably go over the organization system for this place.” Captain Marvel brought up.

“Ah, we can do that inside.” Cyborg shrugged. “With luck, your luggage will have been Zeta Tubed here from the plane by now. Once you’re unpacked, we can begin student orientation.”

The group was happy to be here, as they knew that if this was the school life their future had in mind for them, they were in for a lot of fun.


	30. Investigation

“Gideon, check surveillance systems in Paris for any mention of a Miraculous wielder named ‘Bunnyx’.” Hard to believe Bruce was still on that. He may have known Marinette and Adrien were hiding something after they left the Watchtower, but even for him, this was ridiculous.

“ _Working._ ” Working alongside the Dark Knight to find the answer to this question was the Atom, who was seriously not into this whole thing.

“Bruce, I know it’s hard for you, but could you stop being so paranoid?” And he had no problem voicing his qualms either. “I mean for all we know; the kids were telling the truth. Maybe the Miraculous users of the past just evolved these powers like they are now, and there _is_ no Bunnyx. Besides, Marinette told you and Dick that there are only nine friendly Miraculous users in Paris, and Victor called in; there are nine kids at the Tower.”

“I didn’t install audio surveillance systems in my cowl just to believe obvious lies kids tell me, Ray.” And there was the usual Bat-family stoicism. “If they’re hiding something, I intend to find it.”

Suddenly the computer beeped. “ _One match found; dated October 30 th, 2019 Location; Louvre Museum._”

“Display.” The hologram Gideon brought up displayed the events of the Timetagger Akuma attack, including the image of the blue and white rabbit-hero. Bruce let the video play for a moment until he got a good shot at her standing upright. “Freeze.” The video stopped. “Compare physical proportions to the current Paris citizen registry.”

“ _Processing._ ” While Gideon was doing that, Bruce glanced at Ray and smirked.

To which Ray rolled his eyes. “Okay-okay, you win. I was wrong; the kids _are_ hiding something.” Then he switched his mode to intrigued. “Question is, what?”

Gideon quickly answered that question. “ _There seems to be a problem, Mr. Wayne. I’ve only found one match, and even then, the odds of it being accurate are extremely low._ ”

“Explain.” Gideon then brought up the face of both Bunnyx and a young girl who the Miraculous crew would definitely recognize.

“ _Based purely on facial recognition, the closest match to Subject: Bunnyx is one Alix Kubdel._ ”

“What’s the problem?” asked Ray.

“ _Alix Kubdel is officially 17 years old. Whereas Subject: Bunnyx appears to be in her early-20s._ ” This severely threw the two heroes for a loop.

“How is that possible?” Ray’s question was incredibly valid, especially now.

“I don’t know for sure, but I think I have a theory.” Bruce only hoped this theory was right. “Gideon, begin playback on exterior cameras at time index 13 minutes, 56 seconds.”

Gideon quickly did so, playing Timetagger blast Bunnyx in the back which formed a strange green portal and green text reading “ _-100,000_ ”, which sucked Bunnyx in. “ _Enjoy your trip to the Ice Age, fluffytail!_ ”

“Whoa-whoa-whoa, stop!” Ray’s panicked order quickly made Gideon freeze playback. “Did he just say ‘Ice Age’?”

“Yep, he did. But I don’t think that’s enough to confirm my theory.” Bruce turned back to the playback. “Resume.”

When the video resumed, Ladybug quickly rallied with Chat Noir before the Akuma approached them, weapon at the ready. “ _We’ve wasted enough time, gimme your Miraculous now!_ ” Before he could get too close, a bright white portal opened right in front of him and Bunnyx walked out, shivering.

“Freeze!” Ray ordered, making the AI oblige. “Did- Did she just _Back to the Future_ from the Ice Age?!”

“Her power must allow her to time travel.” Bruce theorized. “But that’s strictly against the orders of-”

“The Department of Continuity?” This unfamiliar voice frightened the two heroes, who quickly pulled their masks on and turned to find that Bunnyx had just warped into the room, right behind them… though she looked a few years older than she did in the footage.

“Gideon, sound intruder alert and lockdown all means of escape from the Watchtower!” Batman ordered and the alarm started going off.

“Gideon, disregard last order; STAR System Override, Alpha-Stone-17.” … for like two seconds, until Bunnyx uttered that order, which shut down all the alarms.

Batman was surprised and pulled out a Batarang as Atom aimed his gauntlet-blaster at her. “How the hell did you get that code?”

“Because you gave it to me, Monsieur Wayne.” That seriously frightened Bruce as he put away the Batarang in favor of extending the blades on his bracers.

“How do you know who I am?”

Bunnyx rolled her eyes. “You still haven’t figured it out?” She just pulled her Miraculous off her hip and shrugged. “Alright then, fine; we’ll do it the old-fashioned way. Fluff, Counterclockwise.” With that, her suit vanished and revealed her to be wearing a leather jacket over a fairly simple outfit, along with tattoos on her arms as a small white bunny Kwami landed on her shoulder. “My name is Alix Kubdel. I just came back here from 2027 to warn the Miracle Beasts about something that might happen in this era to damage the timeline.”

That just confused Ray. “‘Miracle Beasts’?”

Alix just shrugged. “Hey; Chaton Noir came up with it, not me.”

That confused them both until they realized “Chaton” was French for “Kitten”, so they figured it was just some term of endearment she used for Adrien. “Well, that doesn’t explain how you knew that override code.”

“Because you told TJ, and TJ blabs.” That just made Bruce raise an eyebrow. “Turtle Junior?”

“What? Ohh, you mean Nino.” Literally right after he said that Ray slapped his hands over his mouth.

Which Alix just snickered at. “Relax; they tell me their secret identities when they recruit me to the team. And then I get in a _lot_ of training. Most of it from you and your crew, Bruce.”

Ah, screw it. If she really was from the future, she’d know everything that might happen to him in the future. Bruce decided that and simply removed his cowl to the girl. “Well, I’m sorry but you’ve time-jumped to the wrong area.”

“Well, it’s kinda hard to know where to go when this thing is such a junk-heap in my time. Oop! Sorry, spoilers.” Alix clearly knew she couldn’t alter the timeline too much or risk irreparable damage to her time.

Bruce ignored that as he walked forward. “Alright then, answer me this; how do you know about the Department of Continuity?”

Alix smirked, hand on her hip, as she pulled a badge out of her jacket. “Because I’m one of their agents. You know what they say; ‘it takes a time-traveler to catch a time-traveler’.”

“I’m… fairly confident no one actually says that.” Ray rationally brought up.

“Eh, give it about four years. Whenever you hear the news mention me, you’ll always hear at least _one_ person say it. Gets kind of annoying, to be honest.” Alix smirked, checking her nails. “Anyway, where _is_ the team?”

Ray was about to say, but Bruce quickly held up a hand and stopped him. “You first. How do we know the League can trust you?”

Alix rolled her eyes as she checked her watch. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste, aka Ladybug and Chat Noir, unmasked each other for real and had their first kiss on the Watchtower observation deck on November 21st, 2020 at 7:50 PM; Central European Standard Time.”

Bruce and Ray glanced at each other for a second before they glanced back at the computer. “Gideon?”

“ _Confirmed. She’s correct down to the most minute detail._ ”

Bruce nodded as he looked back at Alix. “They’re at Titans Tower, training with Cyborg and Captain Marvel.”

Alix snickered. “Right-right; Vic and Billy. Man, those guys were a riot when I joined up. Alright; thanks, Bruce.” With that, she walked away and fed her Kwami a small carrot, which clearly re-energized her. “Fluff, Clockwise!” With that invocation, Bunnyx transformed back and walked to the back of the room. “Burrow!” A portal similar to the one in the video opened near the wall and she quickly jumped through before it disappeared.

“What do you think that something she mentioned is?” Ray couldn’t help but ask this.

“I’m not sure, but it’s probably something only they can fix.” Bruce nodded. “Either way… Gideon, take the following notice for the terminal duty shifts; if Marinette Dupain-Cheng calls in asking to put the League on stand-by duty, they should listen.”

“ _Understood. Note set._ ” They were going to need it.


	31. The Future

“Alright, now since you’re all new here, let’s give you guys a rundown.” Victor quickly brought up a holographic display of the Tower for the new students. “Titans Academy has two kinds of students; full-time and part-time. Full-timers are like you kids who are given a ‘scholarship’ to the Academy and need to keep their school grades up in addition to their superhero training. Part-timers are kids who go to school elsewhere but still drop by sometimes for training. The second level is reserved for first-year Titan recruits, and all floors are provided with everything a budding group of superheroes needs; dorm rooms, communal living spaces, training area, all that good stuff.”

“Now normally we’d only have you freshmen- and believe me, I am using that word lightly- train here at the Tower,” Beast Boy continued. “But considering your abilities and past accomplishments, we’ve seen fit to allow you the privileges of sophomore Titans; which means you’re allowed to go on patrols in the field, but only if accompanied with a mentor.”

“And naturally, your dorm rooms are all private and separate. We learned the hard way that it had to be like that when Jason and Helena were here.” Cyborg rolled his eyes as he remembered that. “I’m just lucky I managed to come up with some way to censor my memory files from back then. Anyway, official school classes start back up for you guys next Monday and after that, they’ll go on through weekdays. Until then, and on the weekends after that, you guys will be training. We’ll have the occasional big-wig hero in here to help train you guys, and in the meantime, you’ll be learning how to be heroes without needing to rely too heavily on your powers.”

“For now, how about you guys head on up to your rooms and unpack?” Beast Boy suggested. “I already went through and marked all your doors with your insignias.” No argument there as the students all got up and moved for their rooms.

“And guys?” That stopped them for a second. “Wildcat will be in here tomorrow. Show you some hand-to-hand techniques. Listen to what he has to say, no matter what. That clear?”

“Understood.” It was easy for the kids to find their rooms, and they were very happy to be there…

Although Marinette noticed something weird about her luggage. And looking through it, she quickly found out why; apparently, her bags had been mixed up with Kagami’s in the transport. She was going to have to fix that, which did admittedly scare her; she specifically remembered Kagami as not being the most sociable of people.

But suddenly, this thinking was stopped when a familiar portal opened behind her and a familiar hero hopped through. “Bunnyx?! What’re you doing here? And why do you look older than before?”

“Because before, I was visiting you from 2024. Right now, I’m from 2027 but that’s beside the point. We have a massive problem; I don’t know what and I don’t know how, but something is going to happen in this era to severely damage the timeline.”

Marinette was instantly worried. “Oh no, I didn’t reveal myself to Adrien too soon, did I?”

“No, no-no-no, that went perfectly according to history.” Bunnyx quickly waved. “But this _does_ have something to do with Adrien.”

Marinette’s mind suddenly went to the worst-case scenario. “Hawk Moth’s found out about the Chat Blanc timeline, hasn’t he?”

“Thankfully no.” That was a serious relief; she did _not_ want to go through that again. “I mean… I don’t _think_ … Ugh, I don’t know; for some reason, the series of events in the new timeline is being obscured from my sight. All I can see is the aftermath, and even then it and my own memories of it are blurry. All I can make out is some new Hawk Moth standing near a toppled Eiffel Tower with you and the whole team at their feet. And… what looked like legions of Akumatized ninjas marching on their orders.”

Marinette was concerned about what that might mean, but she figured she’d bring it up later. “Is there any way we can prevent that timeline from happening?”

“Maybe, but without knowing what the inciting incident for that timeline is, I don’t know what _any_ of the team can do.” Bunnyx shrugged. “Has anything else odd happened in this time recently?”

“Well… there _was_ Scarecrow's attack on that truck in Paris. And then Ocean Master and Circe.” That certainly caught Bunnyx’s attention. “Would that have anything to do with it?”

“Maybe… I mean, I _think_ I saw a trident in the background of the new timeline. Whoever this new Hawk Moth is, they might’ve beaten everyone who could ever get in their way.” Bunnyx theorized. “Ugh. Sorry, Minibug; I realize that without any concrete information, we can’t do anything. Just- keep your eyes open for anything unusual, okay?”

Marinette nodded. “Okay. How do I contact you with notices?”

Bunnyx smiled as she tapped her Miraculous to Marinette’s earring, both of which dinged. “There. I’ve given you my watch’s com-frequency. Just call me on that and I can see what I can find out. I’ll be monitoring the timeline for anything that might come in handy.” With that, she opened another Burrow and quickly jumped in, letting it disappear before someone knocked.

Marinette had a theory as to who it might’ve been and stood to face the door. “Come in.” Her theory was wrong; she had expected Kagami but was instead greeted by Cyborg, with a red beam coming from his mechanical eye to scan the whole room. “Uh… is something wrong, Mr. Stone?”

“You tell me. I’m picking up elevated tachyon readings in your room. Only thing that could cause that is some sort of temporal distortion ability.”

Marinette was confused. “‘Temporal distortion’?”

Suddenly Victor locked his eye on Tikki, which severely concerned both her and her user. “Kwamis can’t travel through time, can they?”

Tikki shook her head. “Not me anyway. Fluff can though; she’s the Kwami of Time. But she’s still locked in the Miracle Box.”

Victor kept scanning, but eventually stopped and pulled his head out of the door. “Sorry to bother you.”

“Not at all.” With that, Cyborg left for his office, leaving a _very_ relieved Marinette behind to catch her breath for a moment.

When another knock came, she was glad to see her theory was correct this time; Kagami was there this time, and with Marinette’s bags in her hands. “I think our belongings got mixed up by mistake.”

Marinette giggled. “Yeah, I noticed. Uh, come in, come in.” Kagami smiled as she walked in and closed the door behind her, sitting next to Marinette as they swapped bags, their Kwamis flying around the room in some sort of game of Tag.

“Listen Marinette… about you and Adrien-”

Marinette stopped her with one hand. “It’s okay Kagami, I know you two have been on a few… I-I dunno, would you count them as dates?”

“Eh, I don’t know; we never really specified.” She chuckled. “Man, that must say loads about our relationship, huh?”

“Yeah. Anyway, as I was saying, don’t think I’m anywhere _near_ jealous because of those.” Marinette assured. “Just because you two are fencing rivals doesn’t mean I want to be _romantic_ rivals with you.”

Kagami smiled. “I’m glad we agree on that.” With that, she gave a polite bow which Marinette easily returned before Kagami showed herself out, with Longg following her.

Unfortunately, Marinette couldn’t help but worry about the possible timeline disruption. And unfortunately, she knew it would be with her for a good long while.


	32. Three Rounds (pt. 1)

This was one of the more relaxing mornings Marinette had, especially after what had been happening over the past few days; meeting the Justice League, Master Fu getting attacked, learning that her prince Adrien and the annoying Chat Noir were the same person- _that_ was still the one that had her attention as it was still almost impossible to believe that.

But even then, that was almost easier to believe than the fact that she was here at Titans Tower, about to be mentored by professional superheroes. Finally, she managed to lift herself from her dorm-room bed to get herself clothed in some simple gym wear before she slipped out with Tikki following her… to find the others in the public living area with Alya in the kitchen.

“Morning girl. Sleep well?”

“Like a rock.” She smiled as she sniffed the air. “Something smells good.”

“Yeah well, if there’s one thing I learned from my mom, it’s how to cook,” Alya smirked, levering an omurice over to Kagami. “What can I make for you?”

“Mm, maybe just some oatmeal.” Alya shrugged and patted her old friend on the shoulder as she kept up the cooking. Might as well do as her old friend wants.

Finally, once everyone had eaten their fill for the morning, the floor’s PA system turned on. “ _Attention Freshman floor; hand-to-hand combat class will begin in 20 minutes._ ” It was Victor. “ _Please be dressed for physical activity and report to the first-floor gym._ ”

It didn’t take too long to get to the first floor, but it was admittedly surprising to see an older man in the gym’s boxing ring. “Alright! Team Miraculous, welcome to your first day of Superhero 101. This is your first teacher; Ted Grant aka Wildcat; one of the best boxers the League has ever met. He’s taught a lot of members of the League how to fight when they were starting out. And now, it’s your turn.”

“Ah, I dunno Vic.” Ted groaned as he scratched his head. “Kids I’ve taught before have always looked like they know what they’re doin’ at least half the time. These kids? I’ve got my doubts.” His eyes locked on Chloé. “Especially that one.”

“Wha- Hey! I know how to fight!” she growled.

“Yeah, barely,” Luka muttered. Unfortunately, Chloé heard that as the statement earned him Chloé grabbing a handful of his hair and pulling on it. “Ow, ow ow, ow! Hey, what’s the deal? Cmon!”

Ted chuckled at this display. “Alright, nice. Looks like you’re first, Stripy.”

Clearly, this got Chloé angry as she let Luka go and climbed up into the ring. “What’d you call me? I’ll have you know that my father is the mayor of Paris and I will not have you-” It was obvious that Ted didn’t want to hear this as he just gave her a quick swing to her face, sending her reeling back in a daze as she grabbed her jaw. “OW! What was that?!”

“That… was a right cross,” Ted smirked, Chloé standing up and nursing her jaw. “Snake’s right; you _don’t_ know how to fight.”

“Do too! You just… caught me by surprise.” That just made the others start laughing. “What are _you_ laughing at?”

“Don’t mind her Mr. Grant; she makes excuses for this sort of thing all the time.” Adrien chuckled. “Like that ‘resignation’ from the World’s Greatest Chef contest? Real cute, Chloé.”

“Whew. Man, how’d a kid like _you_ get one of those Miraculous?”

“Don’t worry, it was an accident,” Marinette smirked, obviously pissing Chloé off even more. “But ever since then, I’ve been able to trust her when the situation really calls for it. I think you’re going to like her.”

Chloé smiled at that, knowing she wasn’t lying. “Well alright then,” Ted smirked as he tossed the young girl a pair of gloves. She looked a bit confused until she looked at the smirking boxer. “Lemme show you how not to get killed in the ring.”

Chloé smiled, strapping the gloves on before she moved to one corner of the ring, opposite Ted. “So… what, do you do this for a living?”

“Not really. I mean, I haven’t set foot in a pro ring in… whew, must be a hundred twenty-five years.” Honestly, that did amaze the class, but Victor chuckled.

“Doesn’t look it, does he? Yeah, that’s his metagene working; only makes him physically age one year every nine. Anyway, let’s get this started.”

“Right. Anyone not in the ring, grab a pair of gloves and hit the bags.” They all quickly did so, moving to the large line of punching bags facing the ring Victor had set up for class. “Now, see that line you’re standing on?” They all nodded as they looked at the line under their feet. Ted started moving and they quickly paid attention. “Now here’s your basic stance for this sport; dominant side in the back with your back heel on the line, front toe too and keep your feet diagonal, at shoulders-length and raise your back heel a bit. Make sure you’re distributing your weight right, and bend your knees a little.” They bent their knees but… “Too much, Fox.” Quick correction. “There ya go. Now hands in front of your face, elbows pointing down. Gloves under your eyes, point your chin down a little bit.” He gave his class a quick looking over and smiled. “Good, good. Perfect form. Now try to relax and make sure you breathe.” He could hear Chloé breathing and smiled as he strapped on a pair of punching mitts. “Now, quick rundown of the basic moves; 1 is a jab,” He loved this part of his job; he was giving demos of each one as he listed them. “2’s a cross, 3 and 4 are hooks, 5 and 6 are uppercuts. Even numbers are for your dominant hand, odds are for the other. Now unless I say B after any number, assume I want you to aim for the face. If I do, punch in the gut.”

“Just say the word, old man. I just hope you can take it.” Ted figured Marinette was right; he _did_ like this kid; he could tell she had spunk.

“Alright then.” Not much left to say as he raised the mitts to his face. “1-2-1-6!” He was impressed; the whole class did exactly as they were ordered. “1-1-3!” Another perfect round. “1-1-5-3-4B! 1-3-2! Alright, here’s the big one; spinning 4!” Everyone quickly stood on their toe and spun, delivering the punch with a resounding THWACK! against each target. Ted gave a happy chuckle. “Yeah-ha-ha! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about! Alright, two at a time in the ring; let’s have a little tourney, see how you take what I’ve taught you and use it.”

“Uh wait, there are only nine of us. How’re we gonna do this?” Alya’s question made sense.

“Uh, hang on; give us a second.” Ted quickly slipped over to Victor, where they started whispering something to each other. This went on for a minute or two before Victor got on the coms and apparently called someone before they both turned back to the team. “Alright, we’ve uh, we’ve discussed it and we’ve found a good training partner for the last of you.” As soon as he said that, the Zeta Tube spun to life with a young girl flying out… with green skin. “Kids, this is M’gann; Miss Martian. She’ll be in the ring for this little tourney.”

“In the ring?” M’gann slapped a hand to her forehead as she landed. “Hello, Megan! Of course, this is a fight. So what, you want to see what they can do?”

“Absolutely. And I get whoever comes out on top, but I don’t want it to be you so… take it easy will ya?” Ted ordered.

“Yeah-yeah.” M’gann (or Megan as she apparently called herself) had clearly learned from this guy if she was talking like this. Anyway, she suddenly shifted her clothes into what looked like a set of sports-wear. “So… who am I fighting?”

Kim smirked as he stepped forward. “I’m in.” He turned back to the others, specifically Max, Alya, and Nino. “You guys better go take your glasses off just to be safe.” No argument there as all three quickly swapped over to sports-glasses, though Max kept his Miraculous on the back of his head just to allow Kaalki to keep playing with the other Kwamis in the background.

“Alright then. Any of these matches get too serious, I’m calling it all off.” Ted warned as Megan and Kim got into the ring, assuming the position. “Round 1.” Quick ding on the bell and the fight started. This might be fun.


	33. Three Rounds (pt. 2)

Hard to believe they’d already been through nine brackets in this fighting tournament Ted had set up, but here they were; Adrien had fought his way through the brackets and now stood in the ring one-on-one with the old boxer, ready to fight.

“Alright guys, this is it; winner takes all.” Victor dinged the bell one more time. “Fight!” It was obvious that the strain from fighting through the last several brackets was starting to wear on the younger cat-hero, especially since the old Wildcat hadn’t been in the ring once yet since the brackets started. And it didn’t look like Adrien would even last through one round with this guy.

Or at least, that’s what everyone else thought but the younger cat ended up letting loose a powerful combo against the older man, until with one powerful right uppercut, Wildcat was sent tumbling to the mat, which admittedly surprised everyone else. Nino knew his friend would kill him if he didn’t do this, so he quickly climbed to Ted’s side in the ring. “One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven!” Once Nino said that, the old man slowly started to rise to his feet giving Nino a sign to vacate the ring.

Adrien was tired but he smiled as the old man stood. “You wanna keep going, Wildcat?”

Ted chuckled as he spit some blood from his mouth. “Nah, I think that’ll do it. You’ve definitely proven that you can handle the ring. All of ya. I give up.”

“Throwin’ in the towel Ted?” Victor was surprised when the old man nodded and climbed down from the ring, but he shrugged. “Well alright then; looks like we got a default winner here.” Everyone cheered as Adrien climbed down to join his team.

Marinette blushed a bit as she helped him take off his gloves… and was immediately concerned upon seeing the bruising on his right ring finger. “A-Adrien, your finger.”

He looked and cringed a bit. “Ooh. Yeah, I uh must’ve forgotten to take off my Miraculous before we started this. Still, could’ve gone worse.”

“Never say that, kid. It always gets worse when you say that.” Ironically, as soon as Ted said that, the Zeta Tube spun up and Bruce stepped out of it into the main room. “See what I mean?”

“Now isn’t the time Ted; I’m just here for the kids.” With that, he addressed them with a simple blank expression on his face. “I have a mission for you.”

“Already?” Max was rationally surprised; they’d only been at the Tower for one day and they already had their first mission?

“Actually it’s an op that I’ve been planning for a while; I just figured you guys would be perfect to help with it.” With that, he brought up a map of the western-most large island of Gotham City. “This is Otisburg. For the last few years, it’s been the seat of power for a motorcycle gang calling themselves the Sons of Batman. Don’t let the name or what they say fool you though; these guys are criminals. The only problem is that the police can’t make anything stick.”

“So why don’t _you_ do something about it?” Ted asked rationally. “Why drag a bunch of rookies into this little scheme?”

“Because Ted, they idolize whoever wears the cowl. If news gets out that anyone affiliated with Batman attacks the Sons, they’ll only get more violent.” Bruce scowled. “This mission is about _preventing_ an all-out gang-war, not _causing_ one.”

“What do you want us to do?” Bruce gave an almost imperceptible smile at Adrien’s question; he could tell he would like working with these kids.

“I have an agent inside the club who can get me all the evidence the police need to get the Sons arrested. But she can’t get the information outside the club without someone noticing.” Bruce said simply.

“So… what, we’re just the distraction?” asked Kim.

“Not just that.” With that, he brought up an image of a young blonde woman on the computer. “This is my agent Holly Robinson. You get to the gang’s club here,” He pointed to one point on the map. “distract the gang, Holly slips you the intel and you get to Crime Alley… here.” He pointed to another point on the city map a bit north of the club. “Batgirl will meet you there and take the info from you. My team will handle it from there.” With that, Bruce deactivated the computer and walked back to the Zeta Tube.

“Wait, so how are we supposed to distract these guys?” Bruce stopped for a moment and looked back at Marinette.

“Be creative. The plan begins tomorrow night.” With that, the tube energized and transported Bruce away.

“‘Be creative’. Why do I feel like that was a stab at me specifically?” Marinette asked seriously.

“Ah, don’t mind him. He’s just like that.” Ted shrugged. Well, this would be fun.


	34. First Job

“I can’t believe we’re doing this Adrien.”

“What? Cmon Marinette, this is perfect. Bruce told us to be creative. I’d say we followed his instructions pretty well.” A bit too well, Adrien. The whole team was wearing different civilian clothes to make them look more like a low-level gang than anything else as they walked down Remsen Street toward the Sons of Batman clubhouse.

“Little too well, don’t you think Adrien? What if the cops see us like this?”

“Don’t be such a chicken, Nino,” Adrien smirked. “Besides, we’re already here.” And indeed, they had arrived at the front of the old biker bar at the door under a hanging sign.

Nino scoffed and scooched past his old friend. “I’ll show you a chicken, kitty-cat.” Once past him, he banged on the door. The slot at the top slid open to show a pair of aggressive eyes. “Dumas lives.” With that, the slot closed and the door opened to a tall tough-looking black man.

“Cmon in kids.” Only took ‘em a minute to get inside and look around, seeing… about what one might expect from a biker bar. Though the place was actually pretty quiet for what Bruce had said, and one guy near the bar immediately got their attention.

“Well now… new faces. Always nice to see those here.” That especially caught their attention. “Especially when they belong to celebrities.”

Adrien wasn’t exactly sure he liked where this was going as he walked forward. “Can I help you, uh… Deacon?”

Deacon smiled as he walked forward as well. “Not you, rich boy, no…” Suddenly he grabbed Marinette by the wrist and pulled her up to his chest. “But your friend here?”

Adrien was instantly concerned and angered as he grabbed Deacon’s wrist right back. “ _Girl_ friend, thank you very much. Now hands off.” Then he noticed something interesting; this Deacon guy was wearing a minister’s collar under his bike vest. “I’m a bit surprised I have to tell you to do this, Preacher.”

“I’m a bit…loose in my interpretation of the scripture.” Deacon shrugged, glaring at the young model.

Though this glare quickly faded when he felt cold metal against his cheek. He glanced to one side and saw a blonde man with a tag that said “Prez” on his lapel pressing an aluminum bat against his face. “Then I suggest you tighten it up before I’m forced to do it for you, Joseph.”

Deacon glared at his apparent boss for a second before he released his grip on Marinette. “I have a sermon to prepare for tomorrow.”

“Then I suggest you get on that. Now.” Deacon did so as soon as Adrien released him and allowed the minister to go to the back of the club.

The boss smiled as he lowered his bat to the ground like a cane. “You’ll have to excuse Joseph. He may put on the face of a jackass, but when you really get to know him, he’s… Nah, he’s pretty much the same.” Adrien and some of the other guys couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. Jean-Paul Valley.”

This was where Chloé slipped to the front of the pack. “Chloé Bourgeois. So nice to speak to another Frenchman so far from the homeland.”

“Well sorry to disappoint sweetheart, but I’m only _half_ -French and my family has been all over the world since I was born.” Jean-Paul shrugged. “I only really settled down here because I found a bunch of… well, lambs in need of shepherding.”

This admittedly intrigued Max. “This is a Christian club?”

“Ah, it was when we were starting out but in a city as chaotic as Gotham, there’s bound to be some changes,” Jean-Paul smirked.

“I hate to distract from the scope of this discussion, but I believe we are here for a reason.” Kagami reminded.

“Oh, uh right.” Marinette nodded. “We’re here looking for a woman named Holly Robinson?”

“The club treasurer? What do you want with her?” That was a good question; the whole team knew it but no one wanted to be the one to say it.

Thank heaven Luka managed to come up with an excuse. “The family of a friend of ours is in the investment business. They want to know if investing in your business is a good idea.”

Jean-Paul shrugged. “Alright, I’ll go grab her for you. Yo Kittyhawk!” With that, he walked away to try and find her.

Which allowed the team to discuss these events. “Batman is sending us to track down a street gang's accountant? Why?” Nino’s question made good sense.

“I checked Oracle’s reports before we left the Tower; these guys deal in a lot of stuff; drugs, weapons, extortion, but the police haven’t been able to make anything stick,” Alya remembered.

“And the best possible way to prove that is by looking through their financial records.” Adrien smiled. “I bet Holly asked for that job specifically when she joined up.”

“Should we start the distraction yet?”

“Not yet, Chloé. Let’s see if we can get the info we need without relying on it.” Marinette nodded.

It took a second but Jean-Paul quickly returned to the group with the club same blonde from the briefing at the tower. “Well, you wanted Holly; here she is.”

“Arigato. Some privacy now please?” Jean quickly retreated at that comment from Kagami as Holly smirked at the group.

“Dark night, isn’t it?”

Adrien smiled; Tim had stopped the team earlier and told them this challenge code for the mission. “Haven’t seen many robins tonight.”

Holly smiled. “You ready for some leg-work?”

“First things first.” Luka scowled. “Where’s the info?”

“Out of my reach. There have been more than a few leaks of our crew’s operation, and Saint over there’s gotten fingers pointed at me.” Holly nodded. “Until he needs me to go over the numbers, he keeps them locked up in a safe in his office. That’s where you guys come in.”

“You want one of us to sneak into his office and steal the numbers?” Alya theorized.

“No, just get some pictures of them or something. If the file goes missing, there’ll be hell to pay.” Holly argued. “But just to make sure it works; I need a distraction in the main club to draw everyone’s attention. You got something lined up?”

“Oh, absolutely. And it’ll work wonders for this new plan.” Adrien nodded. “Luka, you’re with me. Max, Kim; guard our exit. Nino, ladies; you may begin.”

Nino smiled; he loved this plan and knew it was going to work wonders. Once he slipped over to the stereo system in the corner of the club, he rapped a cup on the table to draw everyone’s attention. “May I have your attention, my dudes?” All eyes turned to the young DJ. “Thank you. Can y’all clear a spot on the floor for the ladies here?” Once the spot was cleared, the plan began; Adrien and Luka slipped into the men’s room with Max and Kim guarding their stalls where they quickly transformed and slipped into the rafters. When Nino saw the telltale glowing of Chat Noir’s green eyes, he smiled. “Let’s get this party started right!”

**(Play “LUVORATORRRRRY!” – JubyPhonic and rachie English cover)**

It was admittedly pretty impressive that the team had managed to pull this together in the space of a day, but either way, once the music started playing, the girls took to the floor with incredible dance moves, surprising Holly. “What the…?” Then the singing started.

_Marinette: Breaking all the right rules, meter programming tools_

_“I like you… or not”, do you take me for a fool?  
Want bolts? or nuts? They’re all so BAD  
Ready, locking on you – target practice in view_

_Kagami: Shot an arrow through my heart,  
Guess you caught me off-guard  
With my looks and my charms,  
I’ll finish what you start  
Only you can make me (Both: Sick!),  
So lemme give you this verse; (Both: Kick!)_

_Both: Hey, look over here and  
Give us a kiss!_

_Kagami: With those lying lips, come and tell me this:  
How much more will you try to fool me like this, baby?_

_Marinette: You’re the only one that I’ll ever need  
Hey, can I have you every-day?_

_Both: Don’t go away………………… -ay -ay -ay -ayu -ay-ay, -ay -ay -ay -ayu -ay-ay, -ay -ay -ay -ayu -ay-ay, ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ayayayay!_

_Nino: *through autotune mic* Dance!_

Understandably, this display drew the attention of the entire club, getting a lot of them cheering even keeping Jean-Paul from entering his office so Chat and Viperion could slip in and find the safe behind a painting on the back wall… which, according to Viperion, was incredibly cliché. Still, it gave them a chance to start cracking the tumbler lock with Chat’s enhanced hearing. Viperion did notice a small security camera in the office, but it looked like Max had already dealt with it as it was down.

_Kagami: Love’s a battle, won in rounds  
Both: So if you lie and tend to show off,  
Be prepared to fall down_

_Marinette: You’re turning to me with that unusual face  
Both: Like “Yeah, yeah”  
“Come on, listen to me!”_

_Marinette: But I never really hated all the faces you make  
Kagami: And because you’re always one step further,  
I can’t keep with your pace_

_Marinette: I can’t say a thing!  
Both: No-no, not a thing!  
*autotuned* I’m pretending to be angry but you’re not listening_

_Marinette: Want me more than anything tonight  
Both: More, more; better hold on tight_

_Love Me, Love Me, Love Me Do!  
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme Hug!_

_Marinette: Think of me more than anyone tonight  
Both: Wanna, Wanna keep you up all night_

_Love Me, Love Me, Love Me Do!  
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme Hug!_

By this point, Chat and Viperion had cracked the safe and were rifling through the file with Viperion taking pictures of every little detail on a camera built into a USB drive… though they did blush a bit at that last part, knowing how close Chat had gotten with Marinette. Either way, disregarding that, they quickly finished, returned everything to how it was when they arrived and slipped up to the rafters where they detransformed and balance-beamed their way toward the dance floor.

_Both: Love me Baby-Baby  
Gimme Very-Very  
Fast love like this beating  
Go at it ‘til I stop breathing!_

_Beasty Gimmick-Gimmick  
Knock Out Gimme-Gimme  
Break us down with the beat until we get  
Knocked Down!_

At this, the two young men jumped from the rafters, spinning in the air to a perfect landing with the girls where they joined in, confusing some of the patrons… before they praised the epicness of this move. Holly especially liked where this plan was going as the dance was getting more and more symbolic.

_Love me Baby-Baby  
Gimme Very-Very  
Hard love and you’re leading  
Need that “Mouth-to-mouth” to keep breathing_

_Beasty Gimmick-Gimmick  
Knock Out Gimme-Gimme  
Break us down with the beat until we get  
Knocked Down!_

Now things got serious as Marinette curled up to Adrien’s chest with Kagami doing the same to Luka, making them both blush but smirk at each other all-the-same.

_Leading me away with your every word  
But can you hear me calling out for you, baby?  
Kagami: I know you’re acting on impulse, and it should be enough  
But what I wanted from tonight was to be filled with your ‘love’_

_Both: What’s the point in all this pretending?  
I’m sure you’ve figured out the truth by now, my darling  
Marinette: Enthalpy abandoned “WHY?”; I don’t know why  
I just wanted you to be the one who’d stay with me_

_Nino: *through autotune mic* Dance!_

The whole club erupted in awed cheering and whooping as Alya and Chloé got in on the action too, making the whole dance look even more awesome especially considering the guys’ moves, which appeared to be various ways of forcing the four girls to the floor; first Alya, then Chloé, then Kagami and finally Marinette.

_All Girls: Love me Baby-Baby (Alya: Whoo!)  
Gimme Very-Very (Chloé: Aha-ah!)  
Fast love like this beating  
Go at it ‘til I stop breathing!_

_Beasty Gimmick-Gimmick  
Knock Out Gimme-Gimme  
Break us down with the beat until we get  
Knocked Down!_

_Love me Baby-Baby  
Gimme Very-Very  
Hard love and you’re leading  
Need that “Mouth-to-mouth” to keep breathing_

_Beasty Gimmick-Gimmick  
Knock Out Gimme-Gimme  
Break us down with the beat until we get  
Knocked Down!_

Finally, they were done and the whole club erupted in cheering, crowding around the group in massive cheering. “Dudes!” Jean-Paul looked like he had just found the next Jonas Brothers. “That was amazing! How did you get so good at that?”

Adrien smiled. “We’ve been practicing for a while.” He knew he was being intentionally vague, but that just made the whole thing better. “Well, either way, our business here is done. Au revoir, Monsieur Valley.” With that, the whole crew quickly slipped out the main door.

Max quickly pulled up a map of the district on his phone. “Alright, west on Giffen then we turn north on 5th; Crime Alley is across from the Monarch Theatre.”

“Bit of a walk.” Kim shrugged. “You guys think we can change before we go anywhere?”

“Took the words right out of my mouth, King Monkey.” Adrien smiled. Quickly the team slipped down an alley across the next street from the club and all transformed before they bounded to the roof before they started running toward the rendezvous point, stopping a few times to stop petty street crime on the way.

Once they arrived, they looked around for a minute until Viperion blinked and spotted something interesting; a patch of a strange red in his vision. “Batgirl?”

The others were confused when he said that, but this switched into surprise when they saw Batgirl actually emerge from the shadows Viperion was looking at. “I’m impressed. I thought I hid pretty well.”

“You did. It’s just… I can see some weird… red coming from your chin.” That really drew the others’ attention.

“You can see infrared?” Batgirl asked. “That’s weird. Previous records didn’t list that as one of your powers.”

Ladybug snapped her fingers. “He must’ve evolved it.” The others smiled at that; she had told the team about their Miraculous mastery’s evolution before they left France, but they weren’t expecting it to be so fast in his case.

“Either way, you guys got the info?” asked Batgirl. Viperion simply palmed off the drive, making the young hero nod at the team. “Pleasure doing business with you. See ya round.” With that, she simply fired her grapnel gun to the roof and zipped away.

“Alright, that went pretty well for a first job.” Chat smiled. “Shall we?”

“Let’s.” Ladybug nodded and pressed her earpiece. “Ladybug to Titans Tower. Request Zeta beam.”

“ _Energizing._ ” Victor quickly transported them back to the tower where they detransformed and went back to their business. If this is what their life was usually like, then they were in for a good time.


End file.
